The war within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is getting murkier by the day in Punjab. Refuting speculations on his resignation, Patiala MP Dr Dharam Vira Gandhi on Sunday claimed that he was not running away from his responsibilities. Just about 24 hours before the party’s State unit will put its head together to further widen its base in Punjab, the membership of two more AAP leaders was placed under suspension on Sunday. The development assumes significance as the party is already cracking down on its dissenters.
It has already expelled a Punjab unit organising committee member and its lok Sabha candidate from Jalandhar Jyoti Mann for indiscipline and asked not to represent the party at any forum. It has also suspended party’s Punjab unit spokesperson Prof Manjit Singh and its Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency candidate Bhai Baldeep Singh for alleged anti-party activities. On Sunday, it came down heavily on AAP's two volunteers from ludhiana— Colonel JS Gill and organising committee member HS Khingra. The party has issued show cause notices to the two leaders for anti-party activities.
The move came at a time when the party’s parliamentarian Dr Gandhi has raised a banner of revolt against the party’s decision to oust two of AAP’s senior leaders —Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, and amidst reports that party leadership is mulling to "act" against him. AAP Punjab unit convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur has already made it clear that any anti-party activity would be dealt with stern hand. Undeterred, Dr Gandhi stand by his decision of supporting Yadav and Bhushan.
“By demanding complete democracy within the party, opposing the undemocratic way of conducting the national council meet on March 27, I have not done any wrong,” said Patiala MP, who defeated Congress stalwart Preneet Kaur in 2014 general elections. He said that he was, in fact, acting as the “watchdog” of the party's principles and policies. "If any true or honest party worker, at any point of time, feels that his or her party if diverting from its rules, foundation principles, they should take corrective steps in that regard," he said.
Ruling out any possibility of putting in his papers, Dr Gandhi said: "Running away from my responsibilities is not in my nature." "I am not only answerable to the party but also to the 25 lakh people of Patiala…They have given me a chance to serve them for five years and I will live up to their expectations completely," said a doctor-turned-politician. launching a scathing attack on the party's Patiala district convener Jarnail Singh Mannu for seeking his resignation, Dr Gandhi accused him for creating rift within the party.
"Mannu sought my resignation on his sweet will without even consulting the party affairs committee or the district committee. Hundreds of people have come to me questioning his arbitrary decision," he said. He also brought under question the party's democratic values while referring to the incidents of burning his effigies and demanding his resignation. "This shows that the party and its leadership is not ready to listen anything against the party's policies, and would in fact, make every possible effort to silence the same," he said.
Mincing no words, Dr Gandhi clarified that in the future also, he would do everything to maintain party's foundation principles. "Whenever and wherever I feel that party is distracting from its foundation principles, I would use my democratic rights to raise my voice against it and do everything to maintain the same," he said. The party is holding a meeting of the State executive committee of Punjab and its 22 district in-chargeson Monday at Mohali which would be presided over by AAP's senior leader Sanjay Singh, the party's central observer for the State. The meeting, aimed at strengthening and widening party's base in Punjab, is also expected to take up the burning issues of internal bickering and its cascading effects.