Day after AAP neta comments on Raghav Chadha’s marriage, Atishi says ‘Don’t want to talk about him’
Following the development, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha rose to 113 after Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan approved the merger of Chadha and six other MPs. The move has reduced the AAP’s strength in the Upper House to three members.
Just days after Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the BJP, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday took a swipe at him, saying his move was not comparable to a routine job switch and that even his marriage was possible because AAP made him a Rajya Sabha member. And now, a day later, AAP leader Atishi refused to talk about him in a press conference on the seven AAP MPs’ defection.
Alluding to Chadha’s comparison of his position within AAP to a corporate employee’s “toxic work environment”, Bharadwaj had alleged that while employees may change companies, they do not “conspire” against their parent organisation. Bharadwaj said Chadha was not being criticised for leaving the party, but for allegedly working against it. “A party that gave you everything… You are even married because this party made you a Rajya Sabha member,” he said.
Response to Raghav’s Video
Raghav Chaddha says his changing party is like someone switching a job from one company to another.
Though it’s not the same but even when people switch jobs, they don’t hatch conspiracy against their parent company
For more than a year, Raghav… pic.twitter.com/RxfnTsv9Ms
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) April 27, 2026
A day later, Leader of Opposition in Delhi, and AAP MLA Atishi termed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat’s notification accepting the merger of seven AAP MPs with the BJP as “unlawful and unconstitutional”. She also declined to comment on Chadha, saying, “We do not want to say anything about him.”
#WATCH | On Raghav Chadha’s video message yesterday, Delhi LoP and AAP leader Atishi says, “We do not want to say anything about him.” pic.twitter.com/rbsFwMzPs1
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal also joined the BJP following Chadha’s footsteps.
Following the development, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha rose to 113 after Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan approved the merger of Chadha and six other MPs. The move has reduced the AAP’s strength in the Upper House to three members.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said that under the Constitution, if a political party merges with another, it requires the support of at least two-thirds of its legislative party. She added that under anti-defection laws, there is no provision allowing two-thirds of MPs or MLAs of a party to merge with another party independently. She said AAP MP Sanjay Singh had conveyed this position to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson.
#WATCH | On the merger of 7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs with BJP, Delhi LoP and AAP leader Atishi says, “The merger notification by Rajya Sabha Secretariat yesterday is unlawful and unconstitutional. Supreme Court’s constitution bench has passed clear orders and it is clearly written in… pic.twitter.com/OLaw8bvtO0
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
“The merger notification by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat is unlawful and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench has issued clear directions, and the Constitution clearly states that when an original political party merges, it must have the support of two-thirds of its legislative party. But under anti-defection laws, there is no provision that allows two-thirds of MPs or MLAs to merge with another party,” Atishi said.
Atishi also criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of undermining the Constitution and democracy. She said the more the BJP resorts to “atrocities” against the Opposition, the closer it comes to its political end.
VIDEO | Delhi Assembly Special Session: Addressing a press conference, LoP Atishi says, “Before the one-day session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly commences, we wish to ask the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top-most leader, the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, when will the… pic.twitter.com/8GU92UJg4E
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 28, 2026
She also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his promise to women in Delhi. “We want to ask the BJP’s top leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when the promised Rs 2,500 will be given to the women of Delhi. He made this promise in January 2025 ahead of the Delhi elections, stating that the amount would be deposited in every woman’s bank account by March 8, 2025, calling it ‘Modi’s Guarantee’. March 8, 2026, has also passed,” she said.
Responding to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks, Atishi defended the AAP’s growth under party convenor Arvind Kejriwal. She listed the party’s electoral achievements, including forming the government in Delhi three times, emerging as a major force in Punjab, and securing representation in Gujarat, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir.
“These developments show that people in the country are looking for an alternative and a different kind of politics, and AAP is becoming that alternative,” she said. She also alleged that central agencies such as the ED and CBI were being misused by the BJP, claiming that recent court observations had exposed a “conspiracy” against Kejriwal.
Rijiju rejected allegations of coercion, saying that “good people” had left the AAP on their own. He accused Kejriwal of turning the party into a “private entity” and said multiple leaders had exited the party to join the BJP or Congress.
“There is no question of coercion. Investigative agencies do their work independently, and we cannot comment on them. Now only his core group remains,” Rijiju said.
Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram
Just days after Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the BJP, AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday took a swipe at him, saying his move was not comparable to a routine job switch and that even his marriage was possible because AAP made him a Rajya Sabha member. And now, a day later, AAP leader Atishi refused to talk about him in a press conference on the seven AAP MPs’ defection.
Alluding to Chadha’s comparison of his position within AAP to a corporate employee’s “toxic work environment”, Bharadwaj had alleged that while employees may change companies, they do not “conspire” against their parent organisation. Bharadwaj said Chadha was not being criticised for leaving the party, but for allegedly working against it. “A party that gave you everything… You are even married because this party made you a Rajya Sabha member,” he said.
Response to Raghav’s Video
Raghav Chaddha says his changing party is like someone switching a job from one company to another.
Though it’s not the same but even when people switch jobs, they don’t hatch conspiracy against their parent company
For more than a year, Raghav… pic.twitter.com/RxfnTsv9Ms
— Saurabh Bharadwaj (@Saurabh_MLAgk) April 27, 2026
A day later, Leader of Opposition in Delhi, and AAP MLA Atishi termed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat’s notification accepting the merger of seven AAP MPs with the BJP as “unlawful and unconstitutional”. She also declined to comment on Chadha, saying, “We do not want to say anything about him.”
#WATCH | On Raghav Chadha’s video message yesterday, Delhi LoP and AAP leader Atishi says, “We do not want to say anything about him.” pic.twitter.com/rbsFwMzPs1
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal, Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal also joined the BJP following Chadha’s footsteps.
Following the development, the BJP’s strength in the Rajya Sabha rose to 113 after Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan approved the merger of Chadha and six other MPs. The move has reduced the AAP’s strength in the Upper House to three members.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi said that under the Constitution, if a political party merges with another, it requires the support of at least two-thirds of its legislative party. She added that under anti-defection laws, there is no provision allowing two-thirds of MPs or MLAs of a party to merge with another party independently. She said AAP MP Sanjay Singh had conveyed this position to the Rajya Sabha Chairperson.
#WATCH | On the merger of 7 AAP Rajya Sabha MPs with BJP, Delhi LoP and AAP leader Atishi says, “The merger notification by Rajya Sabha Secretariat yesterday is unlawful and unconstitutional. Supreme Court’s constitution bench has passed clear orders and it is clearly written in… pic.twitter.com/OLaw8bvtO0
— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2026
“The merger notification by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat is unlawful and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court’s Constitution Bench has issued clear directions, and the Constitution clearly states that when an original political party merges, it must have the support of two-thirds of its legislative party. But under anti-defection laws, there is no provision that allows two-thirds of MPs or MLAs to merge with another party,” Atishi said.
Atishi also criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing them of undermining the Constitution and democracy. She said the more the BJP resorts to “atrocities” against the Opposition, the closer it comes to its political end.
VIDEO | Delhi Assembly Special Session: Addressing a press conference, LoP Atishi says, “Before the one-day session of the Delhi Legislative Assembly commences, we wish to ask the Bharatiya Janata Party’s top-most leader, the country’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, when will the… pic.twitter.com/8GU92UJg4E
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 28, 2026
She also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his promise to women in Delhi. “We want to ask the BJP’s top leader, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, when the promised Rs 2,500 will be given to the women of Delhi. He made this promise in January 2025 ahead of the Delhi elections, stating that the amount would be deposited in every woman’s bank account by March 8, 2025, calling it ‘Modi’s Guarantee’. March 8, 2026, has also passed,” she said.
Responding to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju’s remarks, Atishi defended the AAP’s growth under party convenor Arvind Kejriwal. She listed the party’s electoral achievements, including forming the government in Delhi three times, emerging as a major force in Punjab, and securing representation in Gujarat, Goa and Jammu and Kashmir.
“These developments show that people in the country are looking for an alternative and a different kind of politics, and AAP is becoming that alternative,” she said. She also alleged that central agencies such as the ED and CBI were being misused by the BJP, claiming that recent court observations had exposed a “conspiracy” against Kejriwal.
Rijiju rejected allegations of coercion, saying that “good people” had left the AAP on their own. He accused Kejriwal of turning the party into a “private entity” and said multiple leaders had exited the party to join the BJP or Congress.
“There is no question of coercion. Investigative agencies do their work independently, and we cannot comment on them. Now only his core group remains,” Rijiju said.
