Chandigarh:
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Balbir Singh Seechewal, who did not go down the path taken by his former party colleague Raghav Chadha and six others, has alleged in an interview to NDTV that bureaucrats were in touch with Chadha while rebel AAP MP Sandeep Pathak was in touch with party MLAs.
These activities were going on before Chadha and the six MPs announced they would leave the party helmed by its national chief Arvind Kejriwal and merge with the BJP, he said.
Seechewal did not object to anyone in the AAP leaving, saying they are free to do whatever they wish. “I am not sure how many would leave. But the possibility is less in the eleventh hour before elections.”
Seechewal said the MPs who engineered the AAP implosion were partymen and not public leaders, who happened to “rule in the state like kings.”
Recalling the days ahead of Chadha’s exit, Seechewal narrated how he was approached to persuade him to leave the AAP. It began with tea in the parliament canteen, which Chadha offered, Seechewal said.
Then a phone call came from AAP rebel Vikramjit Singh Sahney, who allegedly proposed forming an “azad group” in parliament, Seechewal said, adding that many MPs including Ashok Mittal had by then agreed to join and support the BJP.
“I have no interest in such a political alignment,” Seechewal said.
Seechewal said the tea invitation from Chadha on April 18 was unusual as Chadha had never asked anything like this before. He said he was not sure if it was linked to the unfolding political developments, and that he was not unaware of any dramatic plans at the time.
Seechewal agreed with AAP MP Malwinder Singh Kang’s comments over concentration of power in a few hands in the AAP, which he said led to exactly the situation exploited by Chadha.
“Administrative decisions including officer appointments and transfers were largely influenced by Raghav Chadha, while organisational control rested with Sandeep Pathak,” he said.
Referring to protests in AAP-ruled Punjab following the defection, Seechewal said they were a part of the “political culture”. “People celebrate when leaders join, and criticise them when they leave,” Seechewal said.
Apart from Chadha, the other six AAP MPs who quit the party are Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal. The AAP had 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha before Friday’s developments.