New Delhi, August 10, 2023: Raghav Chadha, a prominent member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), fired back at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday regarding allegations of “forged signatures” made by five Rajya Sabha MPs. Chadha challenged the saffron party to produce the alleged piece of paper where they claim the forged signatures occurred.
Speaking at a press conference, Chadha emphatically stated, “I challenge the BJP to show me the piece of paper where they are claiming the forged signatures… The Rajya Sabha rule book states that no signature or written consent of a member, whose name has been proposed for the select committee, is required.”
Chadha, a AAP MP, highlighted that the rule book doesn’t mandate signatures or written consent from the proposed members, countering the claims made by the five MPs.
The AAP further revealed that Chadha had not yet received any notice from the Privilege Committee regarding the allegations.
The five MPs had accused Chadha of adding their names to the proposed panel without consulting them or obtaining their consent. The matter was referred to the Privileges Committee by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar to investigate the alleged breach of privilege by Chadha.
Chadha had introduced a motion for a Select Committee of the House to examine the Delhi Services Bill.
The controversy had gained attention during a discussion on the Delhi Services Bill in the Rajya Sabha earlier in the week, during which Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted that some MPs denied signing the motion put forward by Chadha.
After eight hours of discussion and debate, the National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at controlling services in the capital, was passed by the Rajya Sabha with 131 MPs voting in favor and 102 against. The legislation had already been passed by the Lok Sabha the previous week.
