'Democratic' Kejriwal forgets 'Swaraj'? Paragraph explaining term deleted from AAP's website
New Delhi, May 5: He hit the streets of Delhi wearing caps carrying slogans 'Mujhe Chahiye Purn Swaraj' (I want full Swaraj) and alleged no other party except the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is democratic while seeking votes during election.
But now it seems Arvind Kejriwal's party has became so allergic to the term 'Swaraj' after ousted AAP leader Yogendra Yadav launched 'Swaraj Samvad', that is has decided to remove 'Swaraj' from its official website.
The party has even deleted the paragraph mentioning the term 'Swaraj' from its webpage.
"Democracy is popular self rule, but the current practice of democracy negates this ideal and reduces the citizens to mere subjects. AAP aims to restore power to the people, so as to realise the promise of Swaraj enshrined in our Constitution."
['Murder of democracy' in AAP: Nearly 350 party workers resign; back Yadav and Bhushan]
This
entire
paragraph
is
now
missing
from
the
AAP's
webpage
that
enrolls
members/volunteers
for
the
party.
Earlier
this
paragraph
was
followed
by
another
one:
"I
am
a
citizen
of
India.
I
am
above
18
years
of
age.
I
am
not
a
member
of
any
political
party.
I
believe
in
the
objectives
and
thinking
of
the
party
and
I
am
willing
to
fully
participate
in
achieving
the
objective
of
the
party." The
enroller
had
to
check
the
box
besides
this
text
to
complete
the
enrollment
procedure.
"They may argue the Swaraj is there in the party's Constitution. They would like to relegate Swaraj to the confines of the Constitution and not put it to practice. By removing word Swaraj from the enrollment procedure, AAP wants to indirectly convey to new members that Swaraj is no more a priority for the party," Vikrant Karnik, former AAP Thane municipal district convener, was quoted by Daily Mail as saying.
Earlier on Monday, showing their support to expelled leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, nearly 350 AAP volunteers and leaders from Maharashtra quit in protest against the "murder of democracy" in the Arvind Kejriwal-led party.
"As many as 350 volunteers and leaders resigned from AAP and this figure would go up when we will start to sensitise everyone about democracy being murdered in AAP," said Maruti Bhapkar, former state executive committee member of AAP unit in Maharashtra.
OneIndia News