Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav sacked from AAP’s national executive

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New Delhi, March 28, 2015: New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) National Council on Saturday removed senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the National Executive. Here are the live updates:

 

Some of us were even prevented from coming out, this is what is happening here. I am ashamed, I apologize to all volunteers and supporters - Yadav
   

As per details available, Gopal Rai chaired AAP National Council meet. 23 votes were in favour of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, over 200 voted against during the voting on resolution.
   

All I said was that everybody should be heard, bouncers dragged me out, beat me up, and kicked me - Ramzaan Chaudhry
   

There was no neutral factor, Lokpal was absent, our voices were suppressed, we didn’t get a chance to answer - Bhushan
  

Only shouting took place, scuffle took place, bogus voting happened, and nothing else happened. It is a mockery of everything - Yadav
  

What Arvind had said in the sting that we should be kicked out, today we have literally been kicked out - Bhushan
   

Goons had been called at the meeting, they were beating up our supporters - Bhushan
   

Arvind announced Gopal Rai would be president, we opposed saying there should be a discussion but the same wasn’t admitted -Yadav
   

People were raising slogans against me and Prashant during Arvind’s speech at NC meeting - Yadav
  

It was all pre-planned - Bhushan
   

Everything happened as per pre-planned script, Gopal Rai has been made president without voting - Yadav
   

Violence took place at the meet. One of our colleagues, Ramzaan Chaudhry, was kicked and dragged out of the meet by bouncers - Yadav
   

I say it with sadness that democracy has been murdered at the AAP National Council meet today - Yadav
  

Yadav and Bhushan are speaking to reporters now.
   

Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Ajith Jha and Professor Anand Kumar have been removed from the AAP National Executive.
   

Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Ajith Jha and Professor Anand Kumar have been removed from the AAP National Executive.
   

It now appears a matter of time before an official announcement is made on Yadav and Bhushan’s removal from AAP National Executive.
   

Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have also come out of the National Council meet venue. 
  

Arvind Kejriwal has, meanwhile, left the venue after delivering his inaugural address.
   

Reports say out of the 300 present National Council members (total 350), 200 have moved a resolution at the meeting seeking removal of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the National Executive.
   

Arvind Kejriwal is reported to be making the inaugural address at the National Council meet.
   

People voted for this government with high hopes. The opportunity should not be wasted due to lack of political experience - Jaitley 
  

Did not expect this kind of politics, wherein politicians start taping conversations between each other. Lack of political experience should not stop them (AAP) from keeping the promises made to people of Delhi – Finance Minister Arun Jaitley
   

Former Supreme Court judge Markanday Katju calls Kejriwal “a small man”. “If Kejriwal had any statesman like qualities, he should have addressed issues and corrected his weaknesses, particularly his desire to over centralise. But the way he has behaved recently shows he is a small man, and people should not expect anything from him except some stunts,” Katju wrote on Twitter.
   

Kejriwal used to sing ’Insaan ka insaan se ho bhaichaara’, now brotherhood within the party has been exposed - Sudhanshu Trivedi, BJP
   

AAP is bound to split. They were trying to make people believe they are different, but people know they are not different, they are here just for power - PC Chacko of Congress​
   

Yogendra Yadav ends his dharna, says: “Many of the members have been denied entry into the venue for AAP National Council meeting despite having all documents. Some have been allowed entry now. I am going inside and will try for others to be allowed or register my protest.”
   

AAP’s National Council meeting has started.
   

Sources say Kumar Vishwas will chair today’s National Council meet.
   

Yogendra Yadav is sitting on dharna outside the National Council meeting venue after several NC members were denied entry into the meeting. Yadav has however not been denied entry. Prashant Bhushan is already inside the venue.
   

AAP Lokpal Admiral L Ramdas has said that he has been asked not to attend today’s National Council meet on the ground that his term has expired. However, Ramdas claimed, his term has been extended and that he is already looking into two cases.
   

Arvind Kejriwal has arrived at the venue of AAP’s National Council meeting.
   

Anyone who is doing harm to the party, should be removed, says Bhagwant Mann
   

Nobody has called us here, we have come here on our own for interest of party, says an Arvind Kejriwal supporter
   

Never thought such a day would come when my own party workers will raise slogans against me - Yadav
   

A social movement was started for this? Look at these posters, volunteers using words like ’gaddar, murdabad’, it’s unfortunate - Yadav
   

Just received letter from Admiral L Ramdas informing me he has been asked to not attend today’s meeting. He expressed his shock. I apologised to him on behalf of the party and also sought his permission to release the letter - Yogendra Yadav
   

TV visuals show supporters of both the factions are raising slogans against each other outside the farmhouse in Kapashera where the National Council meeting is being held.
  

Kumar Vishwas says the current scenario could have been avoided if the other side was willing for reconciliation.
  

Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan will be attending today’s crucial National Council meeting where they are likely to be sacked from the party.
   

Everything will be accounted for, tough questions will be asked at today’s met. Who were the people who conspired for the defeat of party? - Ashutosh
   

Looking at the present scenario, we cannot rule out breaking up of AAP, says Sanjay Singh. “We made serious efforts to resolve issues, agreed to all of their terms,” he adds.
   

Sources say AAP has asked party’s Lokpal Admiral L Ramdas not to attend today’s National Council meeting.
  

These people are Congress agents planted to malign image of AAP. I don’t want any conspirators and agents in party, they must be removed - Naveen Jaihind
   

What I told Arvind Kejriwal is truth; Yogendra Yadav, Anand Kumar and Prashant Bhushan never had the intention to replace him, says Umesh Singh with whom Kejriwal was in conversation in the sting that came to light yesterday. “There was no need of a sting. But the way the conversation started I felt like recording it so I can listen to it again,” says Singh.
   

Yogendra Yadav today said that it’s an important day as the fate of social movement out of which AAP was born, will be decided. “It’s a day which will decide the future of one of the most extraordinary movements this country has witnessed,” Yadav said. “The idea of AAP is much bigger and sacred than organisational frame called ’AAP’,” he added.
   

Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, founder members of AAP, have demanded that today’s National Council meeting be video-recorded and in case of voting, provision for secret ballot be made. They have also asked a neutral person to conduct the proceedings of the meeting.
   

Reports meanwhile said that members of the National Council and other office-bearers of different wings of AAP Friday decided to move seven resolutions, most of them mirroring the demands made by dissident leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav. An informal meeting of AAP NC members held at YMCA was attended by almost 75 members and other office-bearers and came out with a 7-point "agenda" that would be put forward today when the National Council meets.

"First - AAP should be brought in the ambit of RTI voluntarily. Second - Current Lokpal of the party Admiral Ramdas should chair the meeting. Third - AAP should constitute a committee to work on the lines of Election Commission including the selection of candidates. Fourth - State-level decisions of the party should be left to state executive bodies. Fifth - Party should expand its wings in those state where election are going to be held in near future. Sixth - Voting right ought to be given to active volunteers also. Seventh - Amendments made in the constitution of the party on 2014 should be repealed," said an NC member urging not to mention his name.

   
The party’s National Council is meeting today at 10:00 am and is likely to decide on the continuance of Yadav and Bhushan besides taking up other issues. However, many party leaders feel that it will be difficult for Kejriwal supporters to remove them given the support enjoyed by Yadav and provisions in the party constitution.
   
Also on Friday, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was again at the receiving end of a sting operation in which he is heard purportedly using expletives against Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan and even threatening to form a new party.

However, the Kejriwal camp hit back claiming that "private" conversations of leaders were being "recorded" for the past nine months to "blackmail" the leadership.

The conversation purportedly took place between Kejriwal and one Umesh Singh, a party worker, in which the AAP chief loses his cool and tells the worker to better go and work with Yadav and Bhushan.

"You don’t know how they (Yadav and Bhushan) were working against the party’s interests during the elections....I am not here to be part of any brawl. I am contemplating starting a new party...Will leave AAP with 66 MLAs. Best wishes to you to work with Yadav and Bhushan.”

On Friday, a full-blown war erupted in AAP with Arvind Kejriwal camp and dissident leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav mounting a shrill attack against each other.

Bhushan and Yadav accused Kejriwal of stifling internal democracy just a day after reconciliation talks collapsed on Thursday.

The duo claimed that Kejriwal even threatened to float a new regional party with all its MLAs as he "cannot work with us".

The Kejriwal camp strongly rebutted the allegations by the dissident duo and accused the two founding members of working to ensure party’s defeat in the Delhi polls, saying they had links with AAP’s breakaway faction AVAM which had alleged that the the party got "shady" funds of Rs 2 crore last year.