Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has issued a strong rebuttal of the allegations made against him by his party colleagues and hit back with a warning, “kyonki mein ghayal hoon isliyey ghaatak hoon” (because I am injured, therefore I am dangerous), a famous dialogue used in Bollywood film film Dhurandhar.“I go to Parliament to create impact, not ruckus,” Chadha said. Dismissing his party leaders’ accusation that he was scared of speaking out against PM Narendra Modi and BJP and had failed to raise issues which tied in with his party’s stand, Chadha claimed that the “false” charges levelled against him are part of a “scripted campaign” and a “coordinated attack”.Reacting sharply, AAP leaders from Punjab slammed Chadha for ignoring Punjab’s core issues in Parliament. The slugfest started after AAP removed Chadha as deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha on Thursday. On Friday, Chadha, through a video message, declared that he would not be cowed by attempts to silence him, drawing a fierce backlash from his colleagues.On Saturday, Chadha said in a video message, “Those who are accusing me today, I want to tell them every lie will be exposed, and every question will be answered.”“Those who are accusing me today I want to tell them every lie will be exposed and every question will be answered – kyonki main ghayal hoon isliyey ghaatak hoon (because I am injured therefore I am dangerous),” Chadha warned.“Since yesterday, a scripted campaign is be carried out against me. Same language, same words and the same allegations. This is no coincidence but a coordinated attack,” Chadha said.The MP dismissed as a “blatant lie” the accusation that he does not join Opposition in walkouts over issues and challenged those accusing him to cite even a single such instance, saying the same could be verified through CCTV footage of House proceedings.Refuting the allegation that he had refused to sign the notice seeking removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Chadha said no party leader had asked him, “either formally or informally”, to sign it. He added that out of 10 AAP MPs around 6 or 7 did not sign it so why was he being singled out and blamed. Chadha also highlighted that for a notice to be submitted a minimum of 50 members need to sign and that number was achieved by the opposition in Rajya sabha and so he wondered why was AAP making all the noise about him not signing the notice. On AAP’s allegation that he has been raising unimportant issues as he is scared, Chadha said, “I want to make it clear that I have not gone to Parliament to shout, create a ruckus, break mikes or abuse others. I have gone there to raise the concerns of the common man.” He went on to list out issues raised by him ranging from GST, income tax, water issues in Punjab, air quality in Delhi to unemployment and price rise.Meanwhile, lashing out at Chadha, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, AAP Punjab President Aman Arora, and AAP Punjab Chief Spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal alleged that critical matters, including GST losses were not taken up despite repeated communication. Calling Chadha’s silence a betrayal of Punjab’s people and mandate, the leaders said the failure to raise farmers’ concerns and flood victims’ plight reflects a complete disconnect from ground realities.
