AAP refers decision on fate of rebels to disciplinary committee

Playing safe and keeping its cards close to its chest, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday referred the case against Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha to its disciplinary committee.

Playing safe and keeping its cards close to its chest, the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday referred the case against Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha to its disciplinary committee.

Dissident-AAP-leaders-Prashant-Bhushan-and-Yogendra-Yadav-at-a-news-confrence-at-Press-Club-in-New-Delhi--Arvind-Yadav-HT-Photo

The party has been mulling action against the ‘rebel’ leaders for holding what they call an unauthorised event — Swaraj Samwad — on Tuesday where it was decided that the leaders will not leave the party to form a new one but continue to struggle for swaraj within the party.

The decision to take the matter to the newly-constituted disciplinary committee was taken in a Political Affairs Committee (PAC) meeting held on Wednesday evening.

Yadav and Bhushan were members of the PAC till they were voted out last month. Bhushan was also part of the disciplinary committee till last month.

It is now up to the newly-reconstituted disciplinary committee, which includes Aashish Khetan, Pankaj Gupta and Dinesh Waghela, to decide the fate of the four leaders.

Surprisingly, Timarpur MLA Pankaj Pushkar, who was the lone MLA to attend the Swaraj Samwad meeting on Tuesday escaped unscathed. The party leadership did not suggest his name to the disciplinary committee.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Yadav had said that the party will have to read its constitution carefully before expelling them from the party. The party, too, has decided to follow the proper procedure to remove the leaders from the party, which according to sources, is inevitable.

“A show-cause notice, with detailed allegations regarding anti-party activities, is likely to be issued by the disciplinary committee soon. That the leaders will be removed is almost certain but the party leadership wants to follow all the procedures and show that they gave them a fair chance to defend themselves,” said a member.

Earlier in the day, Yogendra Yadav announced that Anand Kumar has been selected as the national convener of the newly formed Swaraj Abhiyan outfit.

Yadav and Bhushan also declared that the 49 people who had organized Swaraj Samwad will be given the power to constitute a 100-member committee to take the dialogue and vision of the outfit further.

Bhushan reiterated that while they were not planning to form a party as of now, the option will remain open.