New Delhi, April 26 : Senior Congress leader T.S. Singh Deo on Sunday strongly criticised Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha and six other MPs who left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), calling it a case of political opportunism and a decline in political values.

Speaking to IANS, he said, â??This is opportunism. The focus has become how to remain in power and how to gain benefits from it, and examples of this are emerging one after another... The political character of the country has declined rapidly and deeply, which is unfortunate. Otherwise, people come and go, and the public observes them."

"They earlier used to call the Bharatiya Janata Party a group of goons, this is on record, and openly spoke against them on policy matters. Now they are saying that the Aam Aadmi Party has deviated from its principles, which is why they have joined another party...â?? he added.

Earlier, Congress spokesperson Surendra Rajput also reacted to the developments, saying, â??Both Arvind Kejriwalâ??s Aam Aadmi Party and the Bharatiya Janata Party are claimed to be offshoots of the RSS. Both are said to be part of the same larger system. It does not make much difference whether someone moves from one side to the other. Our allegation is that Arvind Kejriwal has shifted people according to his convenience so that there is no problem in securing a two-thirds majority on the impeachment motion being brought against Gyanesh Kumar...â??

Earlier on Friday, Raghav Chadha effectively announced a major political shift, stating that he, along with rebel MPs, had submitted documents showing the support of seven lawmakers for their move to the Rajya Sabha Chairman. He said the AAPâ??s Rajya Sabha legislature party was splitting, with the group of seven MPs joining the ruling BJP.

He made the announcement during a press conference alongside fellow lawmakers Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal. He later posted on X, â??Today, exercising the provisions of the Constitution of India, more than two-thirds of the AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha have merged with the BJP. Seven MPs have signed the document, which was submitted to the Honâ??ble Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.â??

Chadha also personally submitted the signed documents to the Rajya Sabha Chairman. The MPs involved in the move include Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikram Sahni. With the reported split, AAPâ??s strength in the Rajya Sabha is likely to reduce significantly from 10 members to just three.

/IANS