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One of the founding members of the Aam Aadmi Party, Madhu Bhaduri a retired Indian Foreign Service officer, was part of the Right to Information movement and the India Against Corruption agitation. Bhaduri quit AAP in 2014 when she was not allowed to express her views. She tells Kavita Chowdhury, “There never was any democracy within AAP.”
There has been a lot of furore over the past few weeks over “murder of democracy” within the Aam Aadmi Party. As a founder member of AAP what are you views on this ?
Right from the beginning when the party was formed on November 26, 2014 there never was any democracy. It had ambitious beginnings- they had committees on every subject on economic, social justice, gender issues everything under the sun but there was no discussion within the party on it. Discussions were restricted within the small committees that were set up. AAP wanted to appear to have a view on every subject but actually stood for nothing. Incidentally it was Yogendra Yadav and Prof. Anand Kumar at that time, had turned down my suggestion on discussion with party members and volunteers. AAP from the very beginning, was totally a ‘Ghaziabad boys club’.
Many supporters of Aam Aadmi Party, have been talking about being let down by AAP.
AAP as a new party had promised to do away with corruption in elections but as the 2015 Assembly polls showed they totally belied that promise. It was like any other party using money power and muscle power. Party volunteers were meant to have a say in selecting candidates but as it turned out only Arvind Kejriwal and his coterie chose the candidates. These principles were party compromised in 2013 elections and then totally given up by 2015. Kejriwal had already compromised and winning elections had become the only thing that mattered. So how is AAP different from other parties ?
Did you feel a sense of déjà vu when you heard of the steamrolling of all dissent voices at the party’s National Council meeting where Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were ultimately removed from the party’s National Executive ?
This was the party’s second National Council meeting as you know. At the first National Council meet on January 31st 2014 at Constitution Club when I as a member tried to raise the issue of the helpless (Nigerian) women being demeaned at Khriki extension, Yogendra Yadav and his group stopped me. I wanted to introduce a resolution that the party condemns the incident but they didn’t want that. Ultimately Admiral Ramdas intervened and said I should be allowed to speak. I had barely said four sentences when the mike was snatched away from me by Ajit Jha and Yogendra Yadav told me “You’ve had your say, Don’t make a spectacle of yourself.” They said the media was there but that wasn’t true, the media were outside the hall. I was heckled and they shouted and pulled me down from the podium.
As someone who has worked with Arvind Kejriwal right from the days of the Right to Information, then the India Against Corruption and then AAP; in your view is Arvind Kejriwal a dictator ?
Of course. He runs the show as he wants it. It is his party, Arvind Kejriwal equals Aam Aadmi Party. He will turn out anybody that does not agree with him.
Questions are also being raised about AAP's internal Lokpal Admiral Ramdas and how he was given an unceremonious exit.
The Lokpal was the issue on which AAP was born, Arvind Kejriwal quite Delhi government as chief minister the first time around after 49 days in office only because he could not pass in the Vidhan Sabha the Jan Lokpal bill. And now, things have come to such a state that the party’s internal Lokpal, the only party which has one, has been booted out. Admiral Ramdas himself has said that he was assured on March 19th by Kejriwal that he had full confidence in him and 11 days later he was turned out. Ramdas is empowered to nominate his successor but they violated the Constitution of the party itself by not letting him do so and Kejriwal himself chose three members to constitute new Lokpal panel. The Jan Lok Pal movement was such a fantastic agitation but it seemingly meant nothing to them looking at the dictatorial way in which the Lok Pal issue was handled.
The AAP “dissidents” are holding a brainstorming meeting in the capital with AAP supporters and volunteers. Do you have any hopes from this meeting?
Its too early to tell. We will have to see what transpires at the meeting.
