AAP revolt: Attempts to show me as anti-party, says Mayank Gandhi

Aam Aadmi Party leader Mayank Gandhi on Saturday accused a “small group of party decision makers” of targeting him after he decried the decision to remove Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from the Political Affairs Committee and said it could compel him to quit.

He also said that a concerted effort was being made on the social media to portray him as “anti-party” and “anti-Arvind Kejriwal”.

Gandhi said similar attempts were made to “humiliate” and oust Yadav and Bhushan from the party, but they overturned that plan by not quitting.

“A price may have to be paid. A small group of party decision makers in Delhi have already removed me from the informal BBM group. Attacks have begun against me from Ashish Khetan and others,” he wrote in a blog defying a gag order imposed by the party.

The comments were made in a fresh blog by the AAP leader, who had abstained from voting in the National Executive meeting held on Wednesday.

Khetan had taken a jibe at Gandhi saying some people give interviews and write blogs while other work to create history. “Some people give television interviews all through the day, while some work for the progress of Delhi and country. Some people write blogs, while some people write history,” Khetan had tweeted.

Gandhi said that some disgruntled members of the party were trying to portray him as anti-party and anti-Kejriwal.

“Some dissatisfied members from Maharashtra have started giving interviews against me, some old cases are being re-opened. A concerted attempt is being made in social media to call me anti-party and anti-AK,” he said.

The AAP leader from Maharashtra, who unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls from North-west Mumbai, said the party may decide not to fight the civic body elections or delay the decision for the same, adding that leadership of Maharashtra will be challenged and discredited by some individuals and media leaks will be made.

“More will come and I will be finally humiliated so much that I will quit. That was what was planned for Yadav and Bhushan, but they overturned that plan by staying inside the party. Let me see if I can withstand the muck that will be thrown,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi claimed that he was neither rebelling against the party leadership nor seeking personal attention, but was seeking to uphold higher “principle of transparency”.

He said volunteers need to propose to the National Executive about processes and systems on subjects of inner party democracy, volunteer management and communication, reconstitution of PAC and NE, code of conduct for volunteers and leaders, gender justice, conflict resolution mechanisms, policy stands on various subjects etc.

“In my next blog, I shall propose some concrete ideas on the principle of participation of volunteers in the working of the party and seek your ideas and suggestions,” Gandhi added.

In a blog on Thursday, Gandhi expressed shock and slammed the “manner of and intention” in removing Bhushan and Yadav from the PAC.

He said he was shocked when Manish Sisodia introduced a proposal for removing Yadav and Bhushan despite the duo voluntarily offering to step down.

Read the full blog post HERE