Arvind Kejriwal May Skip Important AAP Meet Today
NEW DELHI: Today, the party’s top leaders will meet and decide whether to remove senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the decision-making Political Affairs Committee.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal could skip an important meeting of his Aam Aadmi Party today, amid speculation that its national executive might discuss action against founder members, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, who have been vocally critical of Mr Kejriwal and the party’s functioning.
Mr Kejriwal, 46, is not well and has reportedly been advised naturopathy treatment by doctors for high blood sugar and coughing, AAP sources have said, adding that the Chief Minister is likely to take 10 days leave from March 5, Thursday and fly to Bengaluru for treatment.
His second-in-command Manish Sisodia will take charge as acting Chief Minister during that time.
Sources said his skipping the national executive meeting today will also allow him to be absent when party leaders discuss and vote on whether Mr Yadav and Mr Bhushan should be removed from the decision-making Political Affairs Committee of AAP.
The two leaders’ dissent has caused a full-blown war in the party.
“I am deeply hurt and pained by what is going on in the party,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted on Tuesday morning, speaking for the first time on the internal battle in the party weeks after AAP recorded a stunning win in the Delhi elections.
“This is betrayal of trust that Delhi posed in us. I refuse to be drawn in this ugly battle. Will concentrate only on Delhi’s governance,” he said, shortly after party leader and founder member Prashant Bhushan went public with his criticism of him.
Mr Bhushan told NDTV said there has been a “breakdown of communication” between him and Mr Kejriwal and he has serious disagreements with how the party is functioning.
“There is a great danger of AAP becoming a one-man show. We didn’t form the party to make it like any other political party where there is a high command and one person calls the shots,” he said.
