New Delhi [India], April 24 : In the wake of the Aam Aadmi Party's split in Rajya Sabha, AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar on Friday accused the MPs of betraying the mandate and called their move "no less than 'gaddari' (betrayal).
Speaking to ANI, Kakkar said, "Everyone knows that AAP has no leader in Punjab. Everyone also knows that Congress is almost finished there. So, this time, they (BJP) broke away from the AAP leaders. But I can tell you that Punjabis are watching that the 7 MPs who were sent to the Parliament by them have now supported a party which killed 800 farmers. BJP calls farmers terrorists, and these 7 MPs supported them today. This is no less than 'gaddari'. The public will give a reply to this."
Her remarks come after the Aam Aadmi Party's three MPs - Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal on Friday announced a split in the party and said that two-thirds of the party's members in Rajya Sabha had decided to merge with the Bharatiya Janata Party, marking a major political development in the Upper House.
Addressing the media, Raghav Chadha said, "We have decided that we, the 2/3rd members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP." The press conference was also attended by Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal.
Similarly, while giving his statement at the press conference, Sandeep Pathak said, "I had never thought that such a situation would ever occur in my life. But it did. I was a part of this party for 10 years. Today, I am separating my path from that of the AAP...When it came to joining a party, I joined AAP because they spoke of new politics and politics of work...In 10 years, I worked hard...All political decisions I made were taken by prioritising the party's interests."
Pathak further confirmed his move to the BJP, stating, "I am joining the BJP today and giving up all my positions in AAP."
The move came days after AAP removed Chadha as Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Following the decision, several party leaders had attacked Chadha and accused him of being soft towards the BJP.
Chadha had hit back at the allegations, calling it a "coordinated attack" and denying claims that he refused to walk out of Parliament or sign an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner.
In a post on X, Chadha had said a scripted campaign was being run against him.
"A scripted campaign has been going on against me. Same language, same words, same allegations. This is no coincidence, but a coordinated attack. At first, I thought I shouldn't respond. Then I thought that if a lie is repeated 100 times, some people might believe it. So, I decided to respond," he said.
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