AAP disciplinary committee to decide on action against Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday referred the case against dissident leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav to the party's national disciplinary committee.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party held at the residence of party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh told reporters after the PAC meet that the committee will also look into complaints against Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar.

"The PAC has taken into consideration anti-party activities (of the leaders) over the past few months. There was a discussion of floating a new party at the Swaraj Samvad, which itself is anti-party in nature. The PAC has referred the case of Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Prof Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha to National Disciplinary Committee of the party.

"The next step and decision will be take by the disciplinary committee," Singh said.

This is one of the final stages of expelling the rebel leaders from the party after they were sacked from AAP's top echelons, party sources claimed.

No action has been taken yet against AAP's Timarpur MLA Pankaj Pushkar, who is in the core group of Swaraj Abhiyan, or party MP Dharamvira Gandhi, who had protested the sacking of the rebel leaders in the National Council meeting. The party had warned its leaders and volunteers of action if they attended the convention.

The development came a day after the rebel AAP faction led by Yadav and Bhushan stopped sort of splitting the party by floating a new group at the Swaraj Samvad convention organised at Gurgaon on Tuesday.

At the convention, the rebel leaders announced floating of a new group and also lashed out at the party leadership, questioning inner party democracy and transparency in the party.

Prof Kumar was today picked as the national convener for 'Swaraj Abhiyan', the movement which was announced by the rebels yesterday.

Responding to an impending disciplinary action, Bhushan quoted from 'Alice in Wonderland' and said, "Let the execution take place, the trial can follow."

"We are not quitting the AAP. We are carriers of the founding principles of the party. If they want to sack us, let them. We have never worked against the party. There is a difference between being anti-party and being disliked by the party leadership," Yadav said in a news conference today, just before the PAC meeting.

(With Agency inputs)