26.5.14

Shazi & Gopinath quit AAP

AAP was dealt a double blow on Saturday with senior leader Shazia Ilmi and Captain G R Gopinath quitting.
Founding member of AAP Shazia Ilmi quit the party, blaming ills in the organization on a “crony clique”. Hours later, low-cost flying pioneer Captain G R Gopinath too exited, citing “increasing differences with the leadership”.
Ilmi, who contested the LS polls from Ghaziabad and lost, said she had been mulling resignation for a while and Arvind Kejriwal’s “jail-bail” drama was the last nail in the coffin. “I don’t approve of this. Instead of wasting energy, Arvind should be spending time with party workers and strengthening the party base,” she said. Ilmi said she was open to rejoining the party, but only if she could contribute significantly to it.
AAP national executive member Prithvi Reddy said Gopinath was a member, but not actively involved in AAP.
Ilmi announced her decision at a press conference in Delhi. The journalist-turned-politician referred to Arvind Kejriwal's refusal to sign a bail bond in the Nitin Gadkari defamation case as “drama“. Some members who were acting as “gatekeepers“ were behind impulsive decisions such as these, she said, adding, “There's a complete lack of innerparty democracy . We (AAP) have been fighting cronyism, but a crony clique runs the party and takes impulsive decisions. We get to know about them later. I find it amazing we can't follow the principles of swaraj within our own party....Arvind, who espoused the concept of swaraj, is unable to follow it personally within the party .“ She also attacked AAP's ticket distribution process.
She conceded that sensationalism had initially helped newbie AAP reach out to people and drive home their messages, but this strategy could not be used repeatedly. Ilmi claimed she had been marginalized within the party and wasn't part of the decision-making process.

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