In a major setback to the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), three of its Rajya Sabha MPs --Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal--on Friday announced they are exiting the party and joining BJP.
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Raghav Chadha said the AAP representatives in the RS are exercising the Constitutional provisions and merging with the BJP.
"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," Chadha said.
Raghav Chadha said other MPs --Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal-- have also quit the party and are joining the BJP.
"There are 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha, more than 2/3rd of them are with us in this. They have signed and this morning we submitted the signed letter and documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman...3 of them are here before you. Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal," he said.
Commenting on the reason for quitting AAP, Chadha said he did not want to part of the "crimes" committed by the party.
"I was not eligible for their friendship because I was not a part of their crime. We had just two options - either quit politics and give up our public work in the last 15-16 years or we do positive politics with our energy and experience," he said.
Chadha said he felt like the right person in the wrong party.
"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...For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to public," he said.
Chadha, who was the AAP's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, was removed from the post earlier this month with the party alleging he refused to raise his voice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led government while engaging in "soft PR."
Since his removal, Chadha has shared several videos and posts on social media, signalling that he will not accept his demotion without protest.
Meanwhile, Ashok Mittal, who replaced Chadha as the party's Rajya Sabha deputy leader, faced raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within days, with AAP calling it part of a pattern targeting opposition leaders.