Dr Gandhi dares AAP leadership to expel him

After being removed as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentary party leader, Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi on Tuesday again challenged the party's decision to expel Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan and dared the AAP leadership to expel him too.

After being removed as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) parliamentary party leader, Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi on Tuesday again challenged the party's decision to expel Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan and dared the AAP leadership to expel him too.

He, however, welcomed the appointment of his colleague and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann to the post. "I congratulate Mann. He is my friend and a colleague, he said adding: "I did not join the party to become an MP or its leader in Parliament, but to fulfil the people's dreams."

"I have no issues if the party expels me as I am defying their order on Yadav and Bhushan. I will not fall in line and let this message go straight," Dr Gandhi said.

The Patiala MP had faced the party's ire after he supported Yadav and Bhushan who were sacked from national executive of the AAP during the national council meet on March 28.

Dr Gandhi also wrote to party's national convener Arvind Kejriwal on April 2 showing his willingness to step down as the party's leader in Parliament saying he was not power-hungry.

"I expressed my resentment over Yadav and Bhushan's expulsion. They both were the pillars of the party along with Kejriwal. Their expulsion has given a wrong message among AAP volunteers," Dr Gandhi said.
Criticising the decision-making process of the party, Dr Gandhi said the party was not functioning in a democratic way. "Let us not use word dictator at the moment. The demarcating line in the party is getting blurred when it comes to swaraj, transparency and intra-party democracy," he said.

The party may land in trouble by Introducing wrong culture of muzzling the voices of its leaders, he added. Dr Gandhi said the party was not working on the principles and ideas on which it was formed.

Clearing his stand on the intra-party democracy, Dr Gandhi said he was not married to personalities, but to the principles of the party. "I have been fighting for democratic rights of people for years and would continue raising my voice for the intra-party democracy.