Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday quit the Aam Aadmi Party, citing a sharp departure from the party's founding ideals.
Along with Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal also quit the party.
Addressing a press conference, Chadha said the party he helped build over the years has strayed from its core principles.
“The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat, and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals. Now this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits,” he said.
Reflecting on his journey, Chadha noted that he was among the founding members who came together with professionals from diverse fields to create a corruption-free political alternative.
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“i was a Chartered Accountant before entering politics and was joined by professionals like scientists and educationists. Many, including a cricketer, a Padma Shri awardee and activists, are now leaving the Aam Aadmi Party despite having once united to build a corruption-free India,” he said
He claimed that the party is now “deeply trapped in the hands of corrupt and compromised individuals.”
“For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party,” he added, announcing his decision to step away from the organisation and reconnect directly with the public.
Stating that in the Rajya Sabha, the Aam Aadmi Party has 10 MPs, Chadha added, "More than two-thirds of them are with us in this initiative. They have already signed, and this morning we submitted all the required documentation, including signed letters and other formal paperwork, to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
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"As I mentioned, more than two-thirds of the MPs are supporting us, and we will provide you with the complete list shortly. Three of them are present here before you. In addition, there is world-class cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikram Sahney, and Swati Maliwal. The three present here are Ashok (Mittal) ji, Sandeep Pathak, and myself.”
Meanwhile, AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party has launched ‘Operation Lotus' and described it as a game of cheap politics and an attempt to obstruct the good work of the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab on a large scale.
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