The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) "kidnapped" its councillor, Ram Chander, who had recently rejoined AAP after briefly defecting to the BJP.
Chander, a councillor from Ward No 28, claimed he was threatened by BJP members, who told him he would be framed in cases involving the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In a video message shared by AAP, Chander said he was taken to the BJP headquarters, where he was intimidated.
“There they threatened me saying I would be framed by ED and CBI. My son Akash called the police helpline while our senior party leaders called the police commissioner. When they (BJP) got to know about it, they sent me back home," Chander said in the video message.
"I want to tell BJP, I am not scared of ED and CBI. I have done nothing wrong. I am a soldier of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal," he said.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh earlier shared a video of Ram Chander's son Akash on X alleging that his father had been kidnapped
In the video, Akash said: "My father received a call from an ex-councillor of BJP saying, 'We are standing downstairs near your house to meet you'. My father went downstairs to his office. What we have learnt is that there were four to five people, who threatened my father that he would be implicated by ED-CBI and they took him. We are searching for him."
AAP Leaders React To Alleged Kidnapping
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia echoed Akash's claims, while AAP MLA and MCD in-charge Durgesh Pathak accused the BJP of "making a mockery of law and order" in Delhi.
"Councillor Ram Chander ji from Aam Aadmi Party was kidnapped by BJP councillor ... along with his goons and no one knows where they have taken Ramchand ji.
"We are giving this warning to the entire Bharatiya Janata Party that if Ram Chander ji is not brought back to his home in the next one to one-and-a-half hours, we will create such an uproar that the entire BJP will be shaken," Pathak said on X in Hindi.
BJP Hits Back
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor dismissed the allegations as "lies" and "sensationalism". Kapoor claimed Ram Chander was safely at home, and the AAP was spreading rumours.
“You guys are the kings of fake sensationalism. Councillor Ramchandra is not in your party. We have nothing to do with it, but it is certain that he is sitting in his house. And you people are spreading rumours," Kapoor reacted in a post on X in Hindi.
Both AAP and BJP have claimed that councillors from the other side are ready to switch allegiance and defect from one party to another. The zonal ward committee elections of MCD are scheduled for September 4.
