AAP in turmoil as Kumar Vishwas threatens to quit; Arvind Kejriwal 'pacifies' him

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday slammed senior AAP leader Kumar Vishwas for making statements in the media over the ongoing infighting within the party.

File photo

New Delhi: The rift in the Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday widened with senior party leader Kumar Vishwas threatening to quit over the attacks on him by a 'coterie' surrounding Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Vishwas accused its leaders of conspiring against him and said he won`t compromise with his principles and will soon take a call on his future action.

Vishwas accuses AAP leaders of conspiring against him:

"I know I will be targeted. The efforts to tarnish my image will be made. But let me tell those conspirators that I will not allow you to do so," Vishwas told reporters without taking any name.

He denied that he wanted to be the convenor of AAP.

"I have already said 10 times and even to Arvind (Kejriwal) and Manish (Sisodia) and the party that I don`t want to be the Chief Minister, Deputy CM or the convenor," he said.

Vishwas also said that he would not join any political party or the Swaraj Aandolan.

He broke down while talking to reporters and said, "I don`t know why you are here but I had not joined the movement for this."

Sisodia slams Vishwas:

Meanwhile, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia slammed senior Vishwas for making statements in the media over the ongoing infighting within the party in the wake of its civic polls debacle.

Sisodia said that Vishwas was making remarks on television which was "lowering" the morale of party workers.

"No one in the party asked Kumar Vishwas to apologise. He made it personal. The party does not belong to Arvind (Kejriwal), to me or to Kumar (Vishwas) but it belongs to lakhs of workers in India and abroad," Sisodia told reporters at Kejriwal's residence, as per IANS.

He added that it should not be made a personal issue.

"I along with Sanjay Singh had gone to meet him. He did not come to the PAC yesterday (Monday). He is making remarks in the media which is lowering the morale of party cadre and everyone knows who is getting benefited," Sisodia said.

However, later in the night, both Kejriwal and Sisodia met Vishwas at his residence in order to pacify him.

"We hope to placate him," Kejriwal said, as per ANI.

He added, "Kumar Vishwas is an integral part of our movement. He is upset but we are sure to convince him."

Yesterday, Kejriwal had tweeted that Vishwas was like his younger brother and nobody could separate them.

कुमार मेरा छोटा भाई है। कुछ लोग हमारे बीच दरार दिखा रहे हैं,ऐसे लोग पार्टी के दुश्मन हैं !वो बाज़ आयें। हमें कोई अलग नहीं कर सकता — Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 30, 2017

AAP MLA Amanatullah resigns from PAC:

On the other hand, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan resigned yesterday from the political affairs committee (PAC) of the party following a high-end meeting of the party members with Vishwas conspicuously absent.

Khan, while emerging out of the PAC meeting, had categorically named Vishwas as been "planted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)" to disbalance the party.

Earlier, he had just made a veiled attack on the AAP leader.

"Vishwas ate cake with Ajit Doval and Bassi when AAP MLAs were arrested," he had said.

"I have resigned from the PAC. I stand by what I said about Vishwas. He is working at the behest of the BJP and the RSS. In fact, he has been planted by them to create disharmony in the party," he had added.

The infighting among the party members beamed out when after Khan`s resignation, Sisodia had asked all party MLAs and workers to not issue out public statements.

"No MLAs, workers should issue out public statements. We need to have trust in the party and its leadership. If there is any issue, talk to Arvind Kejriwal. He is always there," he had said.

"We have three years during which we have to work on WiFi, schools, health, etc. These small statements result adversely affect the morale of our party workers," he had added.

The PAC meeting, aimed at discussing the infighting within the party with senior party leaders Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Dilip Pandey and Ashutosh, concluded with Amanatullah resigning from the PAC. 

(With Agency inputs)