Social activist Anna Hazare has reacted to the decision of Raghav Chadha and several other Rajya Sabha MPs of the Aam Aadmi Party to quit the party, saying that individuals in a democracy have the right to choose where they wish to go.
Speaking on the development, Hazare said that in a democratic system, every person has the freedom to decide their political path and that forcing someone to stay in a party is not appropriate. He suggested that the MPs may have faced certain difficulties within the party, adding that there must have been some reason behind their decision to leave.
However, he also indicated that parties should introspect when leaders leave. “If someone separates from a party, the fault lies with them. Had the party functioned properly, they would not have left. When selfish interests take over, people forget society and the nation and start chasing power and money, which leads to problems,” he said.
Shortly after announcing his resignation, Raghav Chadha joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, where BJP national president Nitin Nabin formally inducted him along with AAP MPs Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. Chadha claimed that a total of seven Rajya Sabha MPs had decided to leave the party, including Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, and Rajendra Gupta.
However, so far, only three MPs have formally joined the BJP, while Swati Maliwal confirmed her resignation and stated that she was currently in Itanagar. The AAP currently has 10 Rajya Sabha MPs in the Upper House.
