New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Delhi Lieutenant Governor T.S. Sandhu met Aam Aadmi Party’s new Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, Ashok Mittal, at Lok Niwas, an official said on Friday.
“Well known entrepreneur, Hon’ble MP & Dy Leader – AAP in Rajya Sabha @DrAshokKMittal, called on Hon’ble @LtGovDelhi, Sardar @SandhuTaranjitS, at Lok Niwas,” said a post on social media.
Sixty-one-year-old Mittal, a businessman-turned-politician and chancellor of a private university, is also a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance.
The Punjab MP’s meeting with Sandhu at Lok Niwas came in the backdrop of a raging controversy over his surprise elevation to the post of AAP Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, replacing AAP MP Raghav Chadha.
The rift within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out in the open on Friday, with Chadha, the party’s ‘sacked’ Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, and party leaders, including Delhi unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj, engaging in an ugly war of words.
Moments after Chadha issued a video statement on Friday morning, claiming that he was being silenced for raising people’s voice, a couple of AAP leaders hit back at him, accusing him of bowing down before the Centre and hobnobbing with those in power.
Bharadwaj flagged multiple issues where Chadha, AAP MP from Punjab, was found wanting and failing to corner the government, saying that politics demands probity and courage.
Mittal, who completed four years in the Upper House, issued a statement on social media on March 30 to mark the occasion.
“In my four-year journey in the Rajya Sabha, there have been many significant moments — some challenging, some historic, and some deeply personal. But throughout this entire journey, the greatest strength has been my fellow parliamentarians — who have not just been colleagues, but a true support system, standing by me. Whenever the paths seemed difficult, the people standing alongside gave encouragement, guidance, and the strength to move forward,” wrote Mittal.
–IANS
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