Arvind Kejriwal in Bengaluru, More Trouble in AAP as Another Leader Speaks Out

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 05, 2015:  As Arvind Kejriwal began his 10-day naturopathy treatment in Bengaluru today, his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) struggled with a deepening crisis. A senior party leader has gone public with his strong objection to the manner in which founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were voted out of a decision-making panel on Wednesday.

Mayank Gandhi, a senior AAP leader from Maharashtra, has revealed in a blog addressed to volunteers that yesterday’s meeting was called because Arvind Kejriwal had threatened to quit as party chief if the two leaders, who have repeatedly criticized him, remained in the Political Affairs Committee or PAC.

Mr Gandhi attended the meeting of the AAP National Executive on the outskirts of Delhi but abstained from voting in protest. His "note to volunteers" begins with an apology for speaking out, but says it would be "dishonest to accept the (party’s) gag order."

"On 26th Feb night when members of the NE went to meet him, Arvind conveyed that he will not be able to work as Convenor if these two members were part of the PAC," Mr Gandhi writes.

He says Yogendra Yadav had said he and Prashant Bhushan "would be happy to stay out" of the panel, but they should not be singled out.

Mr Yadav, says the AAP leader, suggested two options - that the panel be reconstituted or that he and Mr Bhushan stay out of the meetings of the current panel. 

The ideas were discussed by Mr Kejriwal’s loyalists, but finally his deputy Manish Sisodia came out and moved a resolution to drop Mr Yadav and Mr Bhushan.

"I was taken aback by the resolution of removing them publicly, especially as they themselves were willing to leave....While I agreed that they can step down from the PAC, the manner and intention behind the resolution was not acceptable," Mr Gandhi said.

Yogendra Yadav told reporters, "I don’t want to comment on the blog, but I only want to say one thing. Finally, truth prevails."

 

Courtesy: NDTV