New Delhi: Internal rift between Raghav Chadha And the AAP high command came out in the open when the party on Thursday appointed Ashok Mittal as deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha in his place.In a letter to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, AAP requested that Chadha not be allotted speaking time from the party’s quota in the Upper House.What led to the decision?According to reports, Chadha was sidelined for alleged indiscipline and not strictly following the party line.Interestingly, Chadha did not make any statement after his recent discharge. Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in a money laundering case related to liquor excise policy. Later, when Kejriwal arrived to address a press conference, he was also absent from the party office.During Kejriwal’s arrest in the liquor policy case ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Chadha avoided making any comments, claiming he was recovering from an eye surgery in the UK.Last week when there was speculation that Chadha might join BJP punjab electionsHowever, AAP leader Sanjay Singh did not give much importance to this possibility. “If you are inside a party, inside a family, internal issues are resolved through discussion. If it reaches that point, we will deal with it,” he said.AAP’s new deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Ashok Mittal, termed Chadha’s removal as a normal party process and said there was no specific reason behind it.Addressing a press conference, Mittal, Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, said he had no knowledge of rumors that Chadha might join the BJP. He said Chadha would still be given time to speak in the Rajya Sabha:“Everyone in our party gets time to speak, it is a democratic process. In future, Raghav Chadha will also be given time to speak in the Rajya Sabha.”Mittal stressed that AAP is a democratic party and gives responsibilities to its leaders. He said the party will decide on Chadha’s role in the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party President Virendra Sachdeva said that the removal of MP Raghav Chadha from the post of Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha shows the anarchy of Arvind Kejriwal.Sachdeva said that Chadha has not only been removed from the post of Deputy Leader of the Upper House, but AAP has also requested the Rai Sabha Secretariat not to give him time to speak in the House.The Delhi BJP president said, it is clear that Chadha is paying the price for distancing himself from the anarchic and corrupt leadership of AAP convener Kejriwal. He said first AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal and now his party member and MP Raghav Chadha are apparently facing misbehavior from a “weak” Kejriwal who has no courage to face political opposition, be it from within the party or from rival parties.Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, has been associated with AAP since the beginning. He started his career working with Arvind Kejriwal on the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012 and rapidly rose within the party, becoming the national spokesperson and later the youngest Treasurer after AAP’s victory in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections.He contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from South Delhi but lost to Ramesh Bidhuri before winning from Rajendra Nagar in the 2020 Delhi Assembly elections. Chadha later served as the Deputy Chairman of Delhi Jal Board. In 2022, at the age of 33, he became the youngest Rajya Sabha MP and played a key role in AAP’s parliamentary and organizational affairs along with leaders like Manish Sisodia and Bhagwant Mann.In 2023, AAP named him as its leader in Rajya Sabha, replacing Sanjay Singh. Chadha has often raised major public issues in the House.