Not content with the ouster of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party, supporters of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could now push for their removal from the party’s national executive.
On Tuesday, four senior leaders from Delhi issued a statement accusing Mr. Bhushan and Mr. Yadav of having worked with fellow founder member Shanti Bhushan to defeat the party in the Delhi elections.“While all workers were struggling to ensure the party’s victory, the trio — Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Shanti Bhushan — were making all out efforts for the party’s defeat,” said the joint statement by Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Pankaj Gupta and Sanjay Singh. These allegations are likely to be taken up at a meeting of the party’s national council on March 28 at which a move could be initiated to reconstitute the national executive without Mr. Bhushan and Mr. Yadav.
The joint statement said Mr. Prashant Bhushan had urged volunteers from other States not to come to Delhi to help in the election campaign, saying he would not be campaigning either. He told volunteers that the AAP needed to be defeated in Delhi to teach Mr. Kejriwal a lesson.
The statement said the party has ample evidence that Mr. Yadav tried to malign Mr. Kejriwal’s image and portray the party in a negative light.
Party sources said other party leaders and MLAs would come up with such statements in the build-up towards yet another showdown at the national council meeting. While the meeting’s agenda is not finalised, the removal of the Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan from the political affairs committee will be discussed.
Many party leaders see the meeting as one to end dissensions in the party.
Reacting to the statement by the senior leaders, Mr. Bhushan said: “Time has come for the country to know the whole truth about the matter and the truth will come out soon. It is good that those things which were being said through other people, allegations that were being made are now being openly made by some frontline leaders of the party.” he said.
Mr. Yadav said the party leadership was coercing MLAs to speak out and sign papers against Mr. Bhushan. “Hope this statement ends all slander, planting of allegations. Hope no more coercion of party functionaries and Delhi MLAs on this issue,” he tweeted.
