Ghayal hoon isiliye ghatak hoon: Raghav Chadha hits back at AAP with ‘Dhurandhar’ dialogue

NEW DELHI: Raghav Chadha has turned to cinema to sharpen his political counterpunch. Days after being stripped of his role as AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, he hit back at the party with a pointed video—closing it with a line from the spy-thriller Dhurandhar: “Ghayal hoon, isiliye ghatak hoon.”

The flourish capped a combative defence. Chadha said he was forced to speak out before “false claims gained credibility”, alleging a “scripted” and “co-ordinated attack”. “The same questions and the same allegations against me. This is no coincidence,” he said.

AAP had on Thursday replaced him with Ashok Mittal, citing his silence on key matters, notably his lack of response after Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were discharged by a lower court in the excise policy CBI case. A day later, the party accused him of ducking a confrontation with Narendra Modi, failing to back a resolution against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and frittering away parliamentary time.

Chadha contested each charge. On claims he did not support Opposition walkouts, he called it a “white lie”. “There are CCTVs all around Parliament. Anyone can check them,” he said. On the impeachment motion against Gyanesh Kumar, he noted that “6–7 AAP MPs” had also not signed. “There are 10 Rajya Sabha MPs from the AAP. But why am I being blamed?” he asked.

He rejected suggestions of timidity, insisting his record spoke otherwise. “I am in Rajya Sabha to raise people’s issues. I am not here to create ruckus. I am here to create an impact,” he said, citing interventions on Delhi’s pollution, government schools, Punjab’s concerns and railway passengers’ grievances.

The message was blunt, the delivery theatrical. With a borrowed line and a direct broadside, Chadha signalled he is bruised—but not backing down.