Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Thursday evening that senior leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav had quit its national executive but the two immediately denied this.
Making the announcement, party spokesperson Ashish Khetan said both appeared to be dead set against the leadership of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, the AAP's best known face.
"They say one thing in private and another in public," Khetan told the media, adding he had been involved in days of close-door discussions with both men.
Bhushan, a founder member of the AAP and a Supreme Court advocate, and Yadav, a political pundit, quickly denied this. Yadav asked Kejriwal loyalists to produce his resignation letter.
"What is being passed off as 'resignation letter' is a note for internal negotiations," Yadav said in a tweet.
He said it was "ridiculous" to say he and Bhushan demanded Kejriwal's removal as the national convenor.
There were reports that messages were sent to AAP volunteers and national council members purportedly on behalf of Yadav, projecting him as the national convenor replacing Kejriwal.
"This wasn't mentioned in our note, never came up for discussion. Can they give any proof?" he asked.
Yadav added: "I hear funny news about the PAC (Political Affairs Committee) accepting our resignation. Will my colleagues please produce a copy of the resignation letter?"
Yadav and Bhushan, meanwhile, wrote an open letter to Kejriwal, expressing their anguish over the crisis in the party.
"What have we done Arvindbhai to deserve this personal animosity. We never asked for any post, position or favour."
"We’ve never made any attempt to dislodge you from your position in the party... Yes, we’ve questioned you. We’ve questioned when you did not want to be questioned," the letter said.
The letter came against the background of reports that Kejriwal wanted Yadav and Bhushan to quit the rookie party's national executive ahead of a key meeting on March 28.
The AAP came to power in Delhi on the back of a crushing majority about a month ago but has been struggling to paper over the cracks after a series of leaked letters revealed a rift between two rival camps -- one supporting Kejriwal and the other comprising veterans like Bhushan and Yadav who say the chief minister is dictatorial.
The two dissident leaders were voted out of the party's all-powerful political affairs committee (PAC) recently after they questioned "a one-person centric" campaign in Delhi, in a veiled dig at Kejriwal.
No comments:
Post a Comment