Senior AAP leaders demand Amanatullah Khan’s expulsion

Amanatullah had alleged that Kumar Vishwas is trying to take control of the AAP replacing Arvind Kejriwal as the party convener.

NEW DELHI: Arvind Kejriwal led AAP continues to be surrounded with controversies. In a fresh one, senior AAP leaders on Monday demanded MLA Amanatullah Khan’s expulsion from the party. Amanatullah had alleged that Kumar Vishwas is trying to take control of the AAP replacing Arvind Kejriwal as the party convener.

Meanwhile, the Delhi CM, who is receiving flaks from various quarters for recent electoral losses, has ordered MLAs to stop airing anti-party views in the media. He has asked the party leaders to raise their concerns in the party and not on TV cameras, sources said.

In a tweet on Sunday evening, Kejriwal came in the defence of Kumar Vishwas calling him as a younger brother.  “Kumar is my younger brother. Some people are trying to drive a wedge between us. They are enemies of the party. They should refrain. No one can separate us,” he said.

Ahead of PAC meet on Monday, Arvind Kejriwal met Manish Sisodia at the latter's residence. Sources said that top leaders of the party including Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Ashutosh discussed the infighting in the party particularly after the poll results.

Sources said that Kejriwal was unhappy with the way Amanatullah Khan made the allegations after Kumar Vishwas called for a deeper introspection within the party in the aftermath of the electoral drubbing that the AAP received in Punjab, Goa and Delhi.

Amanatullah Khan, the Okhla MLA had alleged that Kumar Vishwas is trying to take control of the AAP replacing Arvind Kejriwal as the party convener. The whole controversy emerged when Kumar Vishwas told news channels that he was open to discuss a change of leadership in the party following the poll debacles in three states.

Sources said that till evening, senior AAP leaders including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh tried to persuade Kumar Vishwas to come for the PAC meeting, however, he was adamant on not attending the PAC meeting. These leaders had reached Kumar Vishwas’ residence in NCR area to convince him to attend the PAC meeting.

An AAP insider said that Kumar Vishwas wanted MLA Amanatullah Khan to be out of Public Action Committee (PAC). He has said that he will attend the PAC meeting only if Amanatullah is out of it.

Sources said that about 35 AAP leaders including many MLAs have demanded action against Amanatullah Khan for his statement.

As per the buzz in the political circle, some MLAs might leave the party and join BJP in coming days and the speculation has become stronger after the defeat of party in MCD polls. Only few days before the MCD polls, AAP MLA Ved Prakash had joined the BJP and he had claimed that many more MLAs would join the BJP in coming days.

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