NEW DELHI, Mar 7: Rumblings in Aam Aadmi Party took a new turn today when AAP leader Mayank Gandhi threatened to quit, accusing a “small group of party decision-makers” in Delhi of targeting him for decrying removal of Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the party’s Political Affairs Committee.
He also said that a concerted effort was being made on the social media to portray him as “anti-party” and “anti-AK” (Arvind Kejriwal).
Gandhi claimed similar attempts were made to “humiliate” and oust Yadav and Bhushan from the party but they overturned that plan by not quitting.
“A price may have to be paid. A small group of party decision-makers in Delhi have already removed me from the informal BBM group. Attacks have begun against me from Ashish Khetan and others,” he wrote in a blog defying a “gag order” imposed by the party.
The comments were made in a fresh blog titled ‘2nd note to volunteers-again from the heart’ by the AAP leader who had abstained from voting in the National Executive meeting held on Wednesday.
Khetan had taken a jibe at Gandhi saying some people give interviews and write blogs while others work to create history.
“Some people give television interviews all through the day while some work for the progress of Delhi and the country. Some people write blogs, while some people write history,” Khetan had tweeted.
Gandhi, the AAP leader from Mumbai, also lashed out at the party for for its “non-transparent” decisions and demanded that all NE meetings be video-recorded and volunteers allowed to watch the same.
Gandhi said that some “dissatisfied” members of the party were trying to potray him as “anti-party and anti-Kejriwal.”
“Some dissatisfied members from Maharashtra have started giving interviews against me, some old cases are being re-opened. A concerted attempt is being made in social media to call me anti-party and anti-AK,” he said.
The AAP leader from Maharashtra, who had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls from North-west Mumbai, said the party may decide not to fight BMC elections or delay the decision for the same, adding that leadership of Maharashtra will be challenged and discredited by some individuals and media leaks will be made.
“More will come and I will be finally humiliated so much that I will quit. That was what was planned for YY (Yogendra Yadav) and PB (Prashant Bhushan) but they overturned that plan by staying inside the party. Let me see if I can withstand the muck that will be thrown,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi claimed that he was neither rebelling against the party leadership nor seeking personal attention, but was seeking to uphold higher “principle of transparency”.
“A volunteer identifies and considers AAP as part of their existence but the walls built between them, the Committees and their non-transparent decisions have alienated them.
“Remember, video recording was one of our demands during the joint draft committee meetings on Janlokpal in 2011. All minutes of the meeting signed by all members in all committees in the country should be released on the next day of the meeting to volunteers and supporters,” Gandhi said.
He urged the volunteers to propose to the National Executive about processes and systems on subjects of inner party democracy, volunteer management and communication, reconstitution of PAC and NE, code of conduct for volunteers and leaders, gender justice, conflict resolution mechanisms, policy stands on various subjects etc.
“In my next blog, I shall propose some concrete ideas on the principle of participation of volunteers in the working of the party and seek your ideas and suggestions,” Gandhi added.
In a blog on Thursday, Gandhi had expressed slammed the “manner of and intention” in removing Bhushan and Yadav from PAC.
He said he was shocked when Manish Sisodia introduced a proposal for removing Yadav and Bhushan despite the duo voluntarily offering to step down. (PTI)
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