Anjali Damania quits AAP, says backed Kejriwal for values, not horse-trading

NEW DELHI: Trouble has hit the roof for Aam Aadmi Party after senior leader Anjali Damania put in her papers, accusing chief and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal of horse-trading. In a hard-hitting tweet, Damania said she was disgusted with the ongoings in the party, reacting to a sting done by a TV channel that allegedly shows Kejriwal horse-trading for numbers in the last Delhi elections, where AAP was short by eight seats to form a government.

"I quit...I have not come into AAP for this nonsense. I believed him...I backed Arvind for principles not horse-trading," Damania said in her tweet.



Kejriwal, according to the tape, tried to break away Congress MLAs to get the numbers. A Kejriwal aide, Damania had backed the Delhi CM in the ongoing tussle with Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.

The Yadav-Bhushan rebellion has not gone well with the legislaors who have written to Kejriwal seeking tough action against Bhushan, his father Shanti Bhushan and Yadav for allegedly aiding and abetting anti-party activities.

The signature campaign, which endorses the eight charges made by party leaders Manish Sisodia, Pankaj Gupta, Gopal Rai and Sanjay Singh on Tuesday, is led by Karawal Nagar MLA Kapil Mishra and it demands the dissenting duo's ouster from the party. Mishra told ET that Kejriwal along with his six cabinet ministers, assembly speaker and deputy speaker have not been approached to sign the letter.

However, this development wasn't bereft of conspiracy theories as sources close to the dissenting leaders claimed that several MLAs were forced to sign the missive against their will. Alleging coercion, Bhushan said, "It's unfortunate how this was done. I do not wish to say more. You should speak to the MLAs themselseves." Yadav was not reachable for a comment.

Timarpur MLA Pankaj Pushar and Bijwasan MLA Col. Devinder Sehrawat are two legislators who have refused to sign the petition and, apparently, also protested against the way some of their colleagues were being forced to do the same. Speaking to ET, Sehrawat said, "I think it's against the principles of natural justice that two people should be punished twice for the same mistake. Once you have expelled them from PAC, asking for further action shows vindictiveness and intolerant attitude."