The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking the removal of MP Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in the Upper House, PTI reported.

The party recommended MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

The move came against the backdrop of Chadha’s absence from recent party activities. He also did not publicly react after a Delhi court in February cleared former Chief Minister and party chief Arvind Kejriwal, and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the Delhi excise policy case.

Advertisement

He was also not present at a press conference addressed by Kejriwal at the party office, or at a “jan sabha” held at Jantar Mantar where the AAP chief criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party, India Today reported.

This is not the first time that Chadha has been accused of being distant from party affairs. When Kejriwal was arrested ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Chadha said that he was recovering from eye surgery in the United Kingdom, which delayed his response.

The move to replace Chadha also came three days after the MP praised the government-run Udaan Yatri cafe at Mumbai airport in Maharashtra, where a BJP-led alliance is in power.

Advertisement

Chadha, 37, is a member of the party’s Political Affairs Committee, its highest decision-making body, and has also served as its national treasurer. He has played a role in coordinating the opposition INDIA bloc and is currently the party’s Punjab co-incharge.

He entered the Rajya Sabha after being elevated during his tenure as a Delhi MLA, becoming one of the youngest members of the Upper House. In 2023, he was appointed the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Sanjay Singh.

The Aam Aadmi Party currently has 10 members in the Rajya Sabha, including seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.