Vanishing act

At a much anticipated presser on Monday, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s ex-founder member Maqsood Ul Hasan Qasmi was supposed to explain why he quit the party, basing his resignation on alleged irregular links AAP had forged with Naxalites, the RSS and certain corporate heads. But under intense media questioning, Qasmi was unable to validate any of these claims. Eventually, he was so embarrassed by his own inability to back his accusations that he vanished from the presser - one that he had organised - leaving the floor to Ashoke Pandit, the film-maker. Pandit is not an AAP member, so his presence only added to the bizarre nature of the event.