Journalism of Courage
Prashant Bhushan, who was expelled along with Yogendra Yadav and 2 others from the Aam Aadmi Party, hit back on Tuesday saying that the party has become a ‘Khap panchayat’.
[Read: Quick sacking of Aam Aadmi Party rebels meant to put focus back on ‘good’ work]
“Dreams of a movement have been shattered by a dictator and a small coterie of leaders,” said Bhushan, in a clear and taunt reference to Arvind Kejriwal.
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Bhushan, Yadav and two others were removed from the party on charges of ‘anti-party activities.’
The party’s disciplinary committee, which was once headed by Bhushan, had sent the four leaders showcause notices for allegedly indulging in anti-party activities. The decision to sack them from the party was taken by the national disciplinary committee which said as it was not satisfied with the response it got to the show-cause notice.
“The committee carefully considered responses furnished by Yadav, Bhushan and Kumar and found them unsatisfactory… (they) indulged in gross indiscipline and anti-party activities… Jha failed to furnish his response… The committee, therefore, has decided to expel all four members from the party,” the AAP statement said.
Read: [Full text of Yogendra Yadav’s reply to show cause notice]
The expulsion comes after weeks of speculation as to whether the two leaders would indeed be removed from the party. The AAP, in the last two months, has been caught in a web of severe infighting with a majority of the leadership in support of Kejriwal.
The raging feud within the party had started with reports of Yadav and Bhushan conspiring together to remove Kejriwal from the national convenor’s post. However, both leaders strongly denied the charges and maintained that they were simply on a quest to restore internal democracy within the party.
In the weeks that followed, leaders from both camps attacked each other at press conferences and on social media pointing to the fact that not all is well within a party which had won the landmark Delhi elections.
