AAP’s NRI members accuse the Delhi leadership of adopting ‘use and throw policy’, say they will now directly work for betterment of Punjab.
New Delhi: Members of the Aam Aadmi Party’s Overseas units, which were unilaterally disbanded by party convenor Arvind Kejriwal on 1 September, slammed the decision Wednesday and said it was taken after they decided to “directly work with” the party’s Punjab unit.
In a press statement issued Wednesday, the members of the NRI chapters, mostly Punjabi NRIs, accused the AAP of adopting a “use and throw policy” and alleged that rather than reaching out to the members to resolve issues, the party decided to dissolve the unit arbitrarily.
The decision to dissolve the units was communicated through a “generic email and a group WhatsApp message”, the members said.
“People have lost their businesses, jobs and ignored their families because they were so busy working for AAP as they wanted to bring about change. At the end they have received disappointment,” reads the statement issued by the disbanded overseas units.
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Their discontent is the latest in a series of revolts against the party’s leadership in Delhi.
Last month, eight of the 20 AAP MLAs in Punjab turned rebels under the leadership of Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who was removed as the leader of the opposition in the state assembly. The dissent came on the back of the high-profile exits of prominent leaders Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan.
NRIs unhappy by affairs in Punjab unit
The Punjabi NRI supporters of AAP, mostly based in US and Europe, were unhappy with the party affairs in Punjab, particularly at the way Khaira was removed from his post by the party’s central leadership.
They say they decided to work directly with the AAP’s Punjab unit and conveyed this to the party’s overseas cell convenor Prithvi Reddy on 26 March. In their statement, the NRIs allege that Reddy, who is also a member of the party’s national executive, rather than reaching out to them, responded with a “threatening” email.
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“It (email) stated that, ‘any attempts to shortcut this process and establish process will be treated as anti-party activity and suitable action will be necessitated’. Sad part is, all those chapters have worked very hard during Delhi and Punjab elections,” the statement said.
The ousted NRI members have added that they now have nothing to do with AAP Overseas and will instead directly work for the betterment of Punjab.