Remove Rebels from Aam Aadmi Party: Bhagwant Mann

Bhagwant Mann suggests that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) rebels – Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav – should be thrown out from the party.

By Rakesh Raman

Bhagwant Mann, an Indian comedian and leader of the trouble-torn Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), suggests that the party rebels – Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav – should be thrown out from the party.

Bhushan and Yadav had raised their voice against the party leader Arvind Kejriwal’s dictatorial style of working. But AAP decided to punish them for their alleged anti-party activities. Last week, both of them were removed from the political decision-making wing of the party, called Political Affairs Committee.

With this decision, the dissidents were relegated to mere figurehead roles while Kejriwal himself would call the shots in the party.

[ Also Read: Can Aam Aadmi Party Stay United? No Way. ]

However, Mann – who is a Member of Parliament for AAP from Sangrur constituency in Punjab – feels that this punishment is not enough for Bhushan and Yadav and they should be expelled from AAP.

In an interview Monday to a local TV Channel NDTV India, Mann said that no person is bigger than the party and he is a witness to the anti-party activities of these dissidents. As their fight is not on issues but it’s a personal fight against Kejriwal, they should be removed, Mann suggested.

AAP, a relatively new political group, had stunned the traditional players Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by winning Delhi election in February.

[ Delhi Election: AAP Survives, Congress Dies, BJP in Coma ]

Led by Arvind Kejriwal, AAP won 67 seats in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. With absolute majority, AAP formed the government with Kejriwal as the Delhi Chief Minister.

In the last Delhi election, Kejriwal had managed to become the Chief Minister of Delhi with support from Congress. But he could stay in the post just for 49 days – from December 28, 2013 to February 14, 2014.

After a gap of nearly one year, the election was held again and now AAP has emerged as the clear winner and formed the government without any external support.

By Rakesh Raman, the managing editor of RMN Company

You also can read: More Articles by the RMN Editor, Rakesh Raman

Photo: Screen grab from the NDTV India interview