As the rift between the top leadership of Aam Aadmi Party widens with direct public attacks from either side, sources claim there was an attempt to hush up the entire issue by senior leaders after the National Executive meeting. Highly-placed sources in the party have credited that despite the fact that senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were giving media statements after their removal from the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), a few leaders tried to talk to them and make peace.
According to the information provided by the sources, national secretary Pankaj Gupta and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai tried to talk to the duo to not turn this into a public issue. “They spoke to Bhushan and Yadav and asked them to not make a mockery of the party by giving out loose statements and resolve whatever differences they felt within the party,” said the sources. However, after senior leader Mayank Gandhi who is allegedly from the “Bhushan-Yadav team” came out with his blog saying that the duo was removed from the PAC in an unfair manner, the issue escalated and “compelled” the party’s top brass to react with an open letter.
Senior leaders in the party said, “This is not something that’s been happening for a few weeks or months but has been on since nine months. There have been several attempts to resolve this issue inside the party but once things get out in the public then the whole truth should be put out not just one truth. Hence, the open reaction from the party.”