were the signatures of MPs forged ? - AAP mired in another controversy

With my tiny knowledge of Cinema and O knowledge of Hindi movies, it is unlikely that I ever would have searched the web for this actress finding Uunchai .. .. read that – ‘The Girl on the Train’  is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film directed by Ribhu Dasgupta and produced by Reliance Entertainment, based on British author Paula Hawkins's 2015 novel of the same name. The film stars Parineeti Chopra, Avinash Tiwary, Aditi Rao Hydari and  others.  The movie revolves around Mira Kapoor (Parineeti Chopra), an alcoholic and troubled divorcee who gets embroiled in a big murder investigation.

It is a news about Indian Parliament that made me search the web for all these !!  - a party that cashed the wave created by Anna Hazare fighting against corruption, is now mired in corruption charges and controversies !!!

Parineeti Chopra  appears in many Hindi films, I read.  She has a triple honours degree in business, finance and economics from Manchester Business School.  Not many of films seemingly have done well and in between she had had some hiatus too.   In addition to her acting career, Chopra is a prominent celebrity endorser for brands and products.  

The search was not for her but for her spouse – Raghav Chadha – a politician, member of  Aam Aadmi Party and the youngest Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Punjab.   He was formerly  Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and MLA from the Rajendra Nagar assembly constituency in Delhi till 2022.  He is also a practising Chartered Accountant.

Chadha was prominent in anti-corruption moment of Anna Hazare and became closer to Arvind Kejriwal during that period, becoming part of AAP since inception.  He was part of drafting the  Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012,  and became  AAP's TV face and   spokesperson.  When AAP won the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election with a majority, Chadha at the age of 26 was appointed AAP's national treasurer. In April 2018, the then Union Minister of Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh, terminated his appointment as an advisor to Sisodia along with 9 other advisors.

In 2019, he contested from the South Delhi Parliamentary Constituency and lost  to the BJP candidate, Ramesh Bidhuri. In Mar 2022, he was nominated bu AAP for Rajya Sabha from Punjab for a 6 year term becoming youngest MP at 33.   After AAP's victory in the State, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appointed Raghav Chadha as the Chairman of an Advisory Panel.  

Now there is a political furore with 5 Rajya Sabha MPs claiming  that their “forged signatures” were added to proposed select committee on Delhi Services Bill without their consent by Raghav Chadha.  Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh announced a probe into the complaints. The select committee was proposed by Raghav Chadha in the Upper House to examine the bill. Chadha's amendment to send the contentious bill to a select committee was negated by a voice vote. The Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Bill, 2023 seeks to replace an ordinance on the handling of transfers and postings of officials in the Delhi government.

Five MPs, who claimed their names were listed in the proposed select committee without their consent, are S Phangnon Konyak, Narhari Amin and Sudhanshu Trivedi of the BJP, M Thambidurai of the AIADMK and Sasmit Patra of the BJD.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann got several officials meeting rescheduled to a later date and rushed to New Delhi for firefighting the claims made against Chadha. Whether the dust will settle down or claim the young MP remains to be seen.

 
With regards – S. Sampathkumar
9.8.2023