AAP's dissenting MLA Pankaj Pushkar can't work in his Timarpur constituency

NEW DELHI: In the middle of an ideological war within Aam Aadmi Party , the democratically elected representative of Timarpur is being denied the right to function.

After party volunteers refused to work with MLA Pankaj Pushkar, who has openly aligned with expelled members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, the party has installed an alternative arrangement within the constituency .

A newly-appointed observer now receives calls on Pushkar's number and offers to help residents with their problems.The MLA, meanwhile, is running a parallel office with a handful of supporters.

When TOI attempted to contact Pushkar on his earlier number, the area observer received the call and explained that the MLA was being boycotted. “ After Pushkar sided with Yadav , his number was allocated to me two months ago after I was appointed area observer. Volunteers refused to work with him," the observer said.

“We have set up an alternate arrangement with subcommittees to look into vari ous issues. The MLA is not required for any work, other than maybe signing documents. This will be now done by Promila Gupta, a member of Delhi Commission for Women who is part of Timarpur constituency," he added.

The mobile number is a CUG one that the party has given to senior members in each constituency. Pushkar claims he has had it since the 2013 poll.

Denying a problem with volunteers, Pushkar claimed that the party had blacklisted him. “In May , I received a call from the volunteer who handles the numbers to say that mine would be disconnected in four hours. He asked me to speak to Delhi convener Dilip Pandey if I had a problem," he said.

“The number is being used to spy on me. Tabs are being kept on all those who call on that number. The party is also trying to malign my name.This is a violation of the constitutional system. It is improper for Arvind Kejriwal to start hounding dissenters in such a way ," Pushkar added.

Party sources, however, claimed that the number was not assigned to the MLA but to the observer. “He was given the number when he was an observer. What we do with a phone number is the party's concern. Pandey had explained this to him," said an AAP member.

Another member said Pushkar became unavailable to people who then approached volunteers for resolution of issues. “This is a lie. People are calling me on that number, not the party . How can an MLA be sidelined and work taken up on his behalf," Pushkar said.