Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan should quit AAP and exit gracefully: Kumar Vishwas

TNN

New Delhi, 27 Mar 2015: Amid speculation that dissenting founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan could be shown the door in the AAP’s national council meeting on Saturday, Kumar Vishwas said on Friday that the "rebel duo" should "quit and exit the party gracefully".

 

Kumar Vishwas also blamed "external forces for creating trouble within AAP". 

 

Another AAP leader Ashutosh on Friday said the possibility of a truce with dissident leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan was "remote". 

 

"To be honest and frank, the possibility of truce or peace is remote because they (Bhushan and Yadav) are insisting on removal of Kejriwal (as national convener) which is not possible," Ashutosh told a news channel. 

 

"If you are part of a party, you have to accept its leader," he added Bhushan and Yadav, in an open letter, had accused Arvind Kejriwal of initiating the talks only to secure their resignation from the the national executive and alleged that he was not showing seriousness on any of the major issues raised by them.

 

Significantly, Arvind Kejriwal himself has maintained a silence on this issue and not met either Bhushan or Yadav in the last 10 days.

 

According to the Kejriwal camp, the party had met all the conditions laid down by Bhushan-Yadav in the protracted negotiations but was not willing to accept their demand that Kejriwal be removed as national convener. This has been flatly denied by the duo, who accused the Kejriwal clique of lies, with Yadav demanding that a copy of the resignation letter be produced.

 

Speculation was rife on Thursday evening that the dissident group had recorded the negotiations and would reveal the taped conversations at a later stage to establish that they had not sought Kejriwal’s ouster as national convenor. If so, this would only be one more instance of ’sting’ operations being resorted to in this increasingly murky showdown between the two camps.

 

"We have not resigned. The note was just a starting point for negotiations, but if our conditions are agreed to even now, we will be willing to quit from all positions. There are differences, there are fights, but some limits must be observed. It is unfortunate and sad that such senior leaders in our party have resorted to lies. We used to say this about Congress and BJP members...that they lie," Yadav said.

 

AAP leader Ashutosh, known to be a Kejriwal loyalist, had said on Thursday that talks have failed as Bhushan and Yadav were adamant on the removal of Kejriwal as the national convenor.

 

Speaking after the PAC meeting, Ashutosh tweeted, "Talks failed. Prashant and Yogendra adamant on Arvind’s removal from the chair of national convenor. Party is willing to accept all demands of Prashant/ Yogendra, not removal of Arvind. Why PB/YY are insistent on Arvind’s removal? I am amazed."