Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Mumbai Police on Sunday detained several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) activists after they staged a protest outside the residence of Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha in the Khar area, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).According to videos shared by the party’s social media handle, workers raised slogans against him, including ‘Raghav Chadha murdabad!, ‘Gaddar Chadha’ and ‘Raghav Chadha dalal hai, BJP ka dalal hai’ during the demonstrations. The party workers also burned his effigy and held placards expressing anger over his switch.The protest in Mumbai comes a day after similar demonstrations were held outside the residence of Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta in Ludhiana, where party workers spray-painted slogans like ‘Gaddar’ on the walls of his residence.Also Read | Watch: AAP workers write ‘Gaddar’, burn effigy outside Rajya Sabha MP Rajinder Gupta’s house after he joins BJPPolice officials confirmed that several activists were detained as they gathered outside Chadha’s residence and raised slogans. A Khar Police official said that local AAP leader Ruben Mascarenhas and others were taken to the police station, news agency PTI reported.AAP maintained that the protest was peaceful and that prior intimation had been given to the police. However, the party alleged that heavy deployment was used to prevent workers from assembling at the designated location.As access to the main venue was restricted, AAP volunteers regrouped at Bandra station before moving towards Khar, where they continued their protest outside Chadha’s residence.The party’s Mumbai unit accused the police of curbing a democratic protest and selectively enforcing law and order.AAP Mumbai president Preeti Sharma Menon claimed that workers were not allowed to protest peacefully and that leaders were detained without proper communication.“Mumbai Police has no other work but to guard Raghav Chaddha’s Mumbai residence. Volunteers were prevented from protesting peacefully against the GADDAR. Ruben has been detained at the Khar Police Station. But BJP is allowed to block roads at their whim,” Menon stated.Ruben Mascarenhas also alleged that he was taken into custody without due process.“Without any detention order or any written communication, I have been taken to the Khar Police Station. Why is Mumbai Police so scared of AAP’s peaceful protest against ‘Gaddar’ Raghav Chaddha and Sandeep Pathak? We are Arvind Kejriwal’s soldiers, we are not going to be cowed down,” he said in a post on X.AAP’s Mumbai unit said it had informed the police in advance about the protest in Khar but alleged that authorities prevented the gathering and detained leaders from their homes.“We had given prior intimation to the police about today’s peaceful protest in Khar. Despite this, police are not allowing the gathering. Reports that AAP Mumbai leader Ruben has been taken to Khar Police Station from his home, and police have also reached the AAP Chakala office,” the party said.
Background: AAP split and merger with BJP
The protests follow a major political fallout in which Chadha, along with six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, quit the party and merged with the BJP.The move marked a significant setback for AAP, with Chadha leading the split after weeks of internal tensions. Announcing his exit, he said the party had ‘strayed from its founding principles’ and that he did not want to be ‘part of their sins,’ describing himself as the ‘right man in the wrong party.’He also claimed that more than two-thirds of AAP MPs supported the decision and that seven MPs signed documents to formalise the merger under constitutional provisions.The rift had intensified after Chadha was removed as the party’s deputy leader, with senior leaders accusing him of deviating from the party line and maintaining a softer stance towards the BJP in Parliament.
