Arvind Kejriwal Vs Yogendra Yadav: Talks between warring camps on the verge of collapse

New Delhi, March 24: Less than a week before its crucial National Council meeting, the ongoing negotiations between the two warring camps within AAP are on the verge of collapse as neither side is willing to budge on critical issues.

If the parleys fail, party sources said, the National Council meeting scheduled for March 28 will see a showdown between the camps of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on the one hand and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on the other.

The talks that began last week with the aim of bridging the trust deficit between the two groups after Yadav and Bhushan were ousted from AAP's Political Affairs Committee have led to a consensus that the two factions would focus on resolving the issues.

However, the bone of contention is the implementation of critical matters such as volunteer participation in AAP's decision making, autonomy to its state units, bringing the party under the ambit of RTI and appointment of Lokayukta at the state level.

The two sides are stuck over "theory" and "practicality" of the probable solutions to the contentious issues. However, the sources also indicated that both groups were making last-ditch efforts to salvage the talks.

While the Yadav and Bhushan camp has said it has asked the Kejriwal camp for a detailed report as to how its demands are to be implemented within a time-span of three months, the latter has asked it to give suggestions on how to implement the ideas in a "practical manner".

The groups have also involved two more leaders - from Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka - to ease out the differences and find a middle path. While the Kejriwal camp is being led by PAC member Sanjay Singh and key Delhi unit leaders Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan, the Yadav and Bhushan camp is being represented by Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar.

The Bhushan and Yadav camp has demanded greater participation for the volunteers. The Kejriwal camp has agreed to the same but the two have been unable to find a common ground as to the extent for the same.

Another critical issue is the extent of the autonomy given to the state units. "One cannot expect the PAC to vet the state units' decision to contest local body polls," said a leader from the Yadav camp.

"We have contested three elections (2013 and 2015 Delhi Assembly and 2014 Lok Sabha polls). It is not possible to accede to all their demands according to their wishes as that is not feasible," said a leader in the Kejriwal camp.

PTI