Ashok Mittal replaced Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha, then joined him to dump AAP

In a big jolt to Arvind Kejriwal's AAP, Ashok Mittal – who replaced Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha – is among seven MPs who have merged with the BJP. The announcement was made by Chadha himself at a press conference on Friday.

In Short

• Ashok Mittal replaced Raghav Chadha last month as AAP MP in Rajya Sabha
• Chadha was removed as AAP's Deputy Speaker in Rajya Sabha
• ED raided Mittal's properties in Punjab and Haryana recently

Ashok Mittal, the AAP MP who replaced Raghav Chadha in Rajya Sabha, has merged with the BJP, in what has come as a big setback to Arvind Kejriwal's side. The announcement was made by Chadha himself at a press conference on Friday wherein he said that he is among seven AAP MPs who have decided to switch to the saffron side.

"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," Raghav Chadha said.

This was the first public address by Chadha, who was removed as AAP's Rajya Sabha Deputy Speaker last month, sparking huge rift buzz.

His now-former party alleged that he was doing soft PR and not raising "real issues" of the common person. They also lashed out at him for running away to London when the AAP was busy holding protests against the arrest of Kejriwal. And then the BJP came out in support of Chadha, once known as Kejriwal's blue-eyed boy. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva tweeted that Chadha should have spoken a long time ago, while accusing the AAP chief of using people only to get rid of them.

During Friday's press briefing, Chadha was flanked by Mittal and Sandeep Pathak. An IIT professor-turned-politician, Pathak is also among the AAP MPs, who have pledged allegiance to the BJP.

Furthermore, Chadha said that they have the support of as many as 10 AAP MPs in Rajya Sabha. He included Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Vikram Sahney among them.

"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 (referencing himself, Pathak and Mittal). Besides us, there are Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and Swati Maliwal," Chadha added.

Explaining their decision to switch sides, Chadha said that the discontented MPs had two options – either to quit politics and lose the public work they have done for the past 16 years or engage in positive politics. He further said that the real reason he distanced himself from the AAP is that he didn't want to be "part of their crimes".

"I am telling you the real reason as to why I distanced myself from party activities. I did not want to be a part of their crimes. 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 do positive politics with our energy and experience. So, 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," the 37-year-old told reporters at the press conference.

Last week, the Enforcement Directorate carried out raids at residential and business premises linked to Ashok Mittal in Punjab and Haryana under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). A businessman and educationist, Mittal heads the Lovely Group and is also the Chancellor of Lovely Professional University.

At the time, AAP leaders slammed Raghav Chadha, claiming that the raids were done at his behest because he had secret meetings with top BJP leaders and there was an understanding between him and the saffron party.

The AAP stuck to the same narrative on Friday too, after MP Sanjay Singh accused the BJP of using federal bodies to poach legislators under 'Operation Lotus'. "The BJP used state machinery to create fear and initiate Operation Lotus," he said.

Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann slammed Ashok Mittal for switching sides. "ED and CBI are being utilised (for poaching MPs). You must remember a few days ago, ED raids were conducted on Ashok Mittal's properties...Central agencies are being misused. This is Operation Lotus," he said.

WHAT UNFOLDED IN DELHI IN FOUR HOURS

At around 1 pm, former Delhi CM and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal tweeted about moving out of his house at 5 Feroz Shah Road, which reportedly belonged to Ashok Mittal. At the same time, Mann reportedly called Harbhajan Singh many times, but he didn't pick up. The cricketer-turned-politician is said to be in Mumbai.

At 3.30 pm, Chadha, Pathak and Mittal held a press conference, announcing their decision to merge with the BJP. Half-an-hour later, Sanjay Singh held his own briefing, calling the defected MPs "traitors" and blaming the BJP's 'Operation Lotus'. Then came Mann's address to the media. At 5 pm, Chadha, Mittal and Pathak formally merged with the BJP in the presence of party chief Nitin Nabin.

- Ends
(With inputs from Preeti Choudhary, Assem Bassi, Shivani Sharma, Aishwarya Palliwal)