AAP founder member quits, calls it a pvt firm

A prominent Aam Aadmi Party member, Ashok Agarwal, termed the party “a private limited company” before quitting the national executive, the top decision-making body of the party, on Tuesday.

A prominent Aam Aadmi Party member, Ashok Agarwal, termed the party “a private limited company” before quitting the national executive, the top decision-making body of the party, on Tuesday.

This came two days after AAP member Ashwini Upadhyay calling party chief Arvind Kejriwal a liar and a CIA agent, and its Chandigarh candidate Savita Bhatti opting out of the contest.

Agarwal, who is an advocate and social activist, has been associated with the party since its inception in November 2012, announced his decision in a letter to Kejriwal.

Earlier, Agarwal applied for the ticket to contest the Chandni Chowk seat which was given to Ashutosh, a former journalist.

“Lately, things seem to have changed and the goals and objective that it (the party) was created for is getting lost,” Agarwal said in his letter. He also alleged that the party had lost the “connect” with the aam aadmi, promoting a group of elite individuals, who have taken it over.

“The aam admi vision has taken a backseat and what is on the minds of these individuals is personal projection at the cost of the party’s vision,” he said.

He told HT that he was unhappy with the way a few individuals were running the party. “The party had its own core team that used to take all the decisions.”

Reacting to Agarwal’s decision, an AAP spokesperson said he should have aired his grievances in the party forum. “We would have addressed his grievances had he raised it with the party,” he said.