NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dropped two leaders from key party posts on Sunday.
After a closed-door meeting held at its supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, the party announced that Prashant Bhushan has been removed as a member of the disciplinary action committee while Admiral Ramdass stands dropped as the party’s internal Lokpal (ombudsman).
“Disciplinary committee has been reconstituted, it has three members — Dinesh [Waghela], Ashish Khetan and Pankaj Gupta,” AAP general secretary Pankaj Gupta announced.
All three members of the new look disciplinary action committee are supposed to be staunch loyalists of Kejriwal.
Bhushan’s removal from the disciplinary panel is clear indication that AAP wants to initiate disciplinary action against him, Yogendra Yadav, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha, who were sacked by the party’s National Council under controversial circumstances from its National Executive on Saturday.
They are likely to be charged with being involved in anti-party activities.
“The National Council has authorised the PAC [political affairs committee — the highest decision making body of the party] to take disciplinary action against any member who without authorisation issues media statement against party line and decisions in a bid to tarnish the party’s image,” an AAP statement released yesterday said.
Ordinary members
The party had earlier this month removed both Bhushan and Yadav from the PAC and sacked them from the National Executive on Saturday.
Right now they hold no posts and have been reduced to being ordinary members of the party despite being its founder members.
Besides setting the stage for further crackdown on Bhushan, Yadav and others, AAP displayed further displayed that it brooks no criticism of Kejriwal’s questionable style of functioning by taking on Admiral Ramdass.
“We have appointed three members in Lok Pal — Dilip Kumar, Rakesh Sinha and Dr S.P. Verma,” Gupta said.
