Feels bad when comrades divert from principles, says Prashant Bhushan

New Delhi, June 1: In a veiled criticism of Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party, its expelled leader Prashant Bhushan today suggested that the party was "deviating" from the path of principled politics while Yogendra Yadav said as a person grows in stature he "drifts away" from public.

Without taking any name, Bhushan, a senior Supreme Court lawyer, referred to the turn of events that led to his expulsion from the party in April saying his detractors had "insulted" themselves by throwing muck at him. AAP MLA Pankaj Pushkar was also present in the event.

"I don't believe that I was insulted. When a dishonest person throws muck at you without any reason then he insults himself and not you.

I do feel saddened when I see people whom I worked with to usher in alternative politics going away from those principles and things falling apart. I feel bad. But this is part and parcel of life and we need to move on," Bhushan said.

At the event, organised to felicitate Bhushan for his petitions in public interest, Yadav said that "beating one's own drum" had become a norm of modern public life. "Bhushan is from a different league".

"TV turns individuals into something else. It has its own pitfalls. The more we make someone larger than life the further he drifts away from us. As the person grows in stature it's like we grow smaller," he said.

'The more we make someone larger than life the further he drifts away from us'

Prof Anand Kumar, another expelled dissident and Admiral L Ramdas, who was removed from the post of AAP's internal Lokpal during the rumblings were also present at the event organised at the Gandhi Peace Foundation.

In his keynote address, Bhushan advised people on ways and means to file a successful PIL acceptable to the higher courts of law, saying, most importantly, one ought to have a proper grasp over the issue in which the litigation is to be filed.

"Before filing a PIL, we need to study the issue properly and also offer a solution to the court. One should be prepared for a long battle. Public opinion should be mobilised as well," he said.

Bhushan said he was not afraid of criticising judges for "wrong judgements", pointing out which was a must according to him, and said there was a "class bias" in the Indian judiciary as many judges come from a "privileged background".

PTI