Headlines
Yadav, Bhushan sacked from AAP panel, may take legal recourse
New Delhi, March 28
Less than two months after
it stormed to power in the national capital, the AAP virtually split on
Saturday after it expelled four dissident leaders, including Prashant
Bushan and Yogendra Yadav, from its National Executive in a stormy meet
marred by chaos and protests.
The duo, who are the founding
members of country's youngest political party, reiterated that AAP chief
Arvind Kejriwal was a "dictator" and said they would approach the court
against the "illegal" decision taken at the party's national council
meeting.
Hours after their ouster, Medha Patkar, a senior leader,
announced in Mumbai that she was quitting the party, saying what
happened in the meeting in New Delhi was disrespect to senior leaders
and did not augur well for the party's future.
Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal was present in the meeting, but left before the
crucial voting. The two others who were also sacked were Anand Kumar
and Ajit Jha for siding with the rebel duo.
The meeting started
at 10 a.m. with the supporters of both the camp shouting slogans and
holding banners against each other. Yadav also held a protest outside
the venue over the denial of entry to "genuine" members.
A
national council member told IANS that many shouted slogans in favour of
Yadav and Bhushan during the meeting. Many were reportedly forcibly
removed from the meet.
At the AAP's National Council which was
attended by 311 members, a resolution to oust Yadav, Bhushan, Anand
Kumar and Ajit Jha was tabled by Kejriwal confidant Manish Sisodia.
Two gave their dissent in writing and 54 members expressed no view, he added.
AAP
national secretary Pankaj Gupta told reporters that 247 members had
voted in favour of the proposal of removing the four members, while
eight opposed. Delhi legislator Devender Sherawat was also one of the
eight.
A member who attended the meet told IANS that Kejriwal told the members to "be either with him or with them (Yadav, Bhushan)".
A
visibly upset Bushan later said: "It is true that we can move the
court, Election Commission or call another meeting of the national
council. All options are open."
"I have been telling him (Kejriwal) this that he has dictatorial tendencies and he must curb them.
"I have failed. Instead of curbing these dictatorial tendencies, he has ruthlessly stifled any opposition," he told reporters.
Yadav also said that goons were also present in the meet who beat their supporters.
AAP
was quick to reject the charges as "baseless" with its leader Sanjay
Singh saying that Yadav and Bhushan wanted to gain sympathy.
"No violence had taken place. No one was hit or injured," he told media after the meeting.
Bhushan,
a noted Supreme Court lawyer, claimed the AAP meeting was scripted.
"Everything happened there in a planned manner. It seems that everything
was scripted."
"This is murder of democracy... There was no
distinction between members and invitees. Manish Sisodia announced they
have a petition signed by 160 people... There was no voting, no
discussion," said Yadav, a psephologist and co-founder of AAP.
"There were many people who opposed it, they were not even given the chance. It is a total mockery of democracy."
Yadav
and Bhushan had five demands -- transparency in the AAP, autonomy for
local units, a Lokpal probe into graft charges against party members,
AAP should come within the ambit of the RTI, and an end to secret ballot
during election to key posts.
Ever since the AAP came to power
in the national capital by winning 67 of its 70 assembly seats, the
party has been embroiled in an internal crisis that has pitted Bhushan
and Yadav against Kejriwal, the party's best known face.
Anand Kumar, a Jawaharlal Nehru University professor who was also ousted, however said they will not leave the party.
Giving
his account of the events, he said: "Kejriwal said we caused trouble in
the elections, and asked members to decide whether we should be ousted.
But they did not let us speak."
"We are not out of the party. We will neither leave nor break the party. This is a party of the workers," he said.