00:00Let me go to my first guest tonight. Joining me now on that big story is Yogendra Yadav,
00:04the co-founder of Swaraj India, but also one of the original founders of the Aam Admi Party.
00:10Appreciate your joining us, Mr. Yadav. You are among those, of course, the founders of Aam Admi
00:15Party. Left it now with the Swaraj Abhyan. Your first reaction when you heard that the AAP had
00:21broken in the Rajya Sabha, Raghav Chadha, six other MPs leaving it and merging with the BJP?
00:31I'm very sad, deeply disturbed, deeply disappointed. Yes, I'm not with Aam Admi Party
00:39anymore. I have no reasons to be particularly friendly with its leadership. I've never spoken
00:46even once to any of my colleagues in the last 12 years. But Rajdeep, what has happened today
00:51is just very sad for democracy. You know, people leaving a party for whatever happened inside the
00:58party. I can understand all kinds of reasons, some of which may be good reasons. But going and joining
01:04the BJP at this time, lock, stock and barrel, this is not an ordinary thing. This is part of an
01:13overall
01:13attempt at demolishing the opposition. And that is what should worry every Indian. I could say that Aam
01:22Admi Party deserved it. It is true that initially, the exodus was on principal lines. But once you make
01:31a party into an entrepreneurship, once the mission is over, and it becomes just an entrepreneurship,
01:38then when entrepreneurs do look for opportunities. But that is not all that has happened today. What has
01:44happened, as I said, is part of a mission demolishing the opposition. And no Indian, whether we have
01:52sympathy with Aam Admi Party, or we have no sympathy with Aam Admi Party, no Indian should support something
01:58of the kind that has happened. You know, you're making, you're making Yogendra Yadav an important
02:02distinction. You're saying the Raghav Chaddas, the Sandeep Pathaks, the Ashok Mittals have every right to leave
02:08the Aam Admi Party, the Swati Maliwals. But by now becoming, by merging with the BJP, they can no longer
02:14claim any moral high ground. Where is morality here, Razdeep? Look, your party gave you ticket.
02:24You don't like the party. Party ill-treated you, maybe. You want to leave, leave it, go out,
02:31leave the house. You have a very good example from Bengal of Mr. Sarkar leaving the TMC. Also then
02:42quitting the Rajya Sabha and saying, okay, I'm not part of the game. That's dignified. That's decent.
02:47You have very decent reasons to leave your party. That's understandable. But this is a devious,
02:53diabolic plan. I want to leave my party, yet I want to circumvent the anti-defection law.
03:00And the way to circumvent the anti-defection law is to, therefore, take two-thirds people with me.
03:08So I leave my party, I retain the membership of the house, and I basically contribute to the ruling
03:18party, controlling and consolidating its hegemon. It speaks very poorly of the person's concern.
03:27I say this with sadness because Raghav, in some ways, Raghav Chadha started with me. He assisted me in
03:34the beginning when I was in the Ahmad Nipati. Normally, one should be very happy to see a
03:38younger colleague go up. But if this is the way to go up, I must say, I feel ashamed of
03:46the fact that
03:46he had any association. You know, you're using very strong words today,
03:50Yogendra Yadha. But at the same time, doesn't this also raise questions over Arvind Kejriwal's
03:55style of leadership? The BJP will turn around and say today, look, the Ahmad Nipati is imploding.
04:00Why blame us?
04:03Rajdeep, I hold no brief for Ahmad Nipati. As you know, and as I've said, I have not spoken ever
04:10to
04:10any of these colleagues. I have no desire. I mean, I've never defended Ahmad Nipati. There's no reason.
04:17And as I said, they've converted the party into a shop where you simply come in for the sake of
04:24power.
04:24And yes, when you get people who are there simply as political entrepreneurs, political entrepreneurs
04:30look for opportunities. That's exactly what has happened today. So, yes, I hold no brief for
04:35Ahmad Nipati. However, what has happened today is not merely some people quitting the party because
04:42the party entreated them. Maybe Raghav Chadha may have a genuine grievance, but then 100 other people
04:48may have a grievance against Raghav Chadha. So, maybe, let's say, let's say, in principle,
04:53he has a legitimate grievance. All right, step out, contest election, come back if you can.
05:01Why are you? This simply destroys the spirit of the anti-defection law, goes against the spirit of
05:10the constitution, goes against the spirit of democracy. So, no matter what I think of Ahmad Nipati,
05:16and I think very poorly of the Ahmad Nipati today, but how can I, just because I happen to be
05:23agreed by Ahmad Nipati, I think I may have better reasons to be unhappy with Ahmad Nipati than Raghav Chadha
05:29anyone else. But how can then I give up all norms, all basics, everything, and go and join the BJP?
05:38How is that possible? How can there be difficult?
05:41Will this in your, in conclusion, do you believe this will further demoralize the opposition,
05:46send out the message, there is only one party in the country that the BJP, we are in a one
05:50-party
05:51dominant era. We've seen Shiv Sena being broken, NCP being broken, Congress splitting apart in states.
05:58Are we seeing the Ahmad B party next?
06:03So, it's one nation, one election, one party, one leader. This is the model being imposed on the
06:11country today. And it should be the duty of every Indian who believes in democracy. I may like this
06:18party, I may dislike this party, but it's the duty of every Indian who believes in democracy to stand
06:25up against this one nation, one election, one party, one leader model. Because this stands against
06:32everything that democracy is. That is where we stand. I want to just ask you in conclusion then,
06:41what is that one piece of advice you'd give to someone who started off as a junior associate of
06:46yours, Raghav Chadha, an otherwise talented politician? What would you tell him today?
06:55Having said that, I feel ashamed of my association with Raghav Chadha. Do I have a moral right to advise
07:03him? Maybe Raghav Chadha is very fond of Shero Shairi. And the Raghav Chadha that I knew used to
07:12occasionally quote Mahatma Gandhi as well. I'm nobody to ask him to go back and read Mahatma Gandhi again.
07:22Maybe he should simply look at in the mirror once again.
07:27Let's leave it there, Yogendra Yadav. I think in your words, you've already sent out a strong message
07:32to Raghav Chadha, who saw himself as a rising star of politics. But there will be questions that will
07:39be raised also over the manner in which this decision has been taken and its timing. Thank you very much
07:45for joining me there.
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