Raghav Chadha on Friday made a pointed remark in the Rajya Sabha, subtly questioning his party’s leadership by drawing attention to who was — and wasn’t — present in the chamber.

During his address, Chadha observed that the party’s floor leader and the recently appointed deputy leader were both absent, while he — who was recently relieved of the deputy leader’s role — was in attendance. He thanked the Chair for allowing him to speak, a comment that was widely seen as a veiled criticism of the internal changes within the party.

He later congratulated Harivansh Narayan Singh on being re-elected as Deputy Chairman of the House.

Chadha was replaced as deputy leader of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Upper House earlier this month, with Ashok Kumar Mittal taking over the role. Sanjay Singh continues to serve as the party’s leader in the House.

Although the reshuffle was initially described as routine, tensions soon surfaced publicly. Party representatives alleged that Chadha had not taken strong positions on contentious matters, including issues linked to the Delhi excise policy case, and accused him of not aligning firmly with the party’s confrontational stance against the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Responding to the criticism, Chadha released details of his parliamentary participation, asserting that his performance record speaks for itself. He rejected claims of disloyalty and maintained that his focus in Parliament remains on raising substantive public concerns rather than engaging in disruptions.

Amid the exchange, the Punjab government withdrew his Z-plus security cover. Shortly afterward, the Centre extended Z-category protection to him, adding another layer to the political developments surrounding the episode.