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Yadav and Bhushan now sacked as AAP spokespersons

India Blooms News Service | | 01 Apr 2015, 03:37 pm
New Delhi, Apr 1(IBNS) Rebel leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan have been sacked as spokespersons of the Aam Aadmi Party in what is being seen as another move to marginalise them in the organisation.

The party's decision, taken late on Tuesday evening came hours after Yadav spoke about a 'Stalinist purge' going on in the AAP where Arvind Kejriwal's writ runs large.

The two leaders have already been removed from the party's important panels and appears to be nearing expulsion from the party.

Reports said Atishi Marlena, one of the prominent spokespersons of the party during the election campaign, Anand Kumar and Mayank Gandhi  have also been dropped.

The 20-member fresh panel of spokespersons of the party includes Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Ilyas Azmi and Pankaj Gupta, Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan - all Kejriwal loyalists.

Earlier, Yadav  said  party is witnessing Arvind Kejriwal's one-upmanship and a 'Stalinist purge.'

Yadav, who along with another founding member Prashant Bhushan was  removed from AAP's National Council on Saturday last as a result of their growing differences with the official line, told NDTV that party's convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has always been insecure about him and he has replaced the organisation's fundamental principle of self rule to his own fiefdom.

"Initially, I thought victory makes many people magnanimous and I thought Arvind would be able to come out of that insecurity that he's had vis-a-vis me right from the beginning. But his mood was different after the election," Yadav said.

"Unfortunately, what we are witnessing looks nothing different from a Stalinist purge. It reminds me of Animal Farm again and again," he said.

Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were dropped from all party panels and stripped of important posts in what is being seen as a precursor to their expulsion from the party.

The rebels have been demanding more transparency and democracy within the AAP.

However, Kerjiwal loyalists have alleged that the duo tried to ensure the party's defeat in the Delhi assembly elections and their purpose is to remove Kejriwal as convenor.

Riding the crest of a massive mandate AAP came to power with Kejriwal heading the government for the second time. But the party has since been beleaguered with bitter rivalry and rancorous spat that comes public very often.

"This party is not the property of some leaders... it was not invented in Nagpur. This party has come up from a genuine democratic upsurge in this country and no one should allow this party to be captured," Yadav said.

Amid speculations of a new party being floated as a result of the infighting in the AAP,  Yadav and  Bhushan have reportedly called a meeting of volunteers on April 14.

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