Vice President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar has written a letter to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal regarding the demand for appointment of Raghav Chadha as the party’s leader in the Upper House. In the letter, Dhankhar rejected AAP’s request to appoint Chadha as their parliamentary party leader.
The rejection comes after Kejriwal had requested Dhankhar to appoint Chadha as the interim AAP leader in Rajya Sabha, citing that the party’s current floor leader Sanjay Singh was under judicial custody.
However, Dhankhar dismissed the demand, as per a PTI report quoting sources. The Vice President communicated his decision in a letter addressed to the Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal.
Rajya Sabha chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar declines AAP's request to appoint Raghav Chadha as party's leader in Upper House of Parliament: Sources
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2023
This development comes at a time when Raghav Chadha had recently apologized to Vice President Dhankhar as per the Supreme Court’s instructions regarding his suspension from Rajya Sabha. His suspension was subsequently revoked, allowing him to return to the House.
The rejection of AAP’s demand is seen as a setback for the party as it indicates that Chadha will not be able to take over as the leader in Rajya Sabha for now. The party will have to find an alternative arrangement with Singh still under custody.
