New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday managed to avert a crisis for now after the senior leadership of the party reached a compromise with Kumar Vishwas who had hinted that he may quit the party.
AAP’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) met on Wednesday and decided to appoint Vishwas as the party’s Rajasthan convener.
In addition, the party has set up a committee to probe the allegations made by Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan, who has been suspended from the party.
The development comes after the party began to see signs of a rift with Khan accusing Vishwas of plotting a coup. The Political Affairs Committee (PAC), the highest decision making body of the party met on Wednesday to reach a compromise on the issue.
“I assure you that whenever there is a need for course correction and discussion we will sit together with our differences. There should be no confusion that this is because of me wanting a larger role. I have said this earlier as well that I have no intention to become the CM, deputy CM or the national convener. There was a need for certain things to be discussed in the party and that has started now. There will be no barriers in our fight against corruption,” Vishwas said after the meeting.
The top leadership of the party, including national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Ashutosh and Sanjay Singh, met Vishwas on Tuesday. Vishwas is one of the founding members of the party.
“The statements that were made regarding Kumar Vishwas by Amanatullah… The PAC had already raised their concern over his statement and he resigned from the PAC. It is now been decided that because of his statements he has been suspended as a member of the party and a committee has been made to look into the matter,” Sisodia said.
“Secondly, to give Kumar Vishwas a larger role he has been appointed as the Rajasthan unit convener by the PAC so that the party can build an organizational strength under his leadership ahead of assembly polls,” Sisodia added.
Assembly elections in Rajasthan are likely in 2018.
The party has faced a series of losses in the assembly elections in Punjab and Goa along with a defeat in the Delhi bypoll and municipal corporation elections.
On Monday, some MLAs from Delhi and Punjab wrote letters to Kejriwal demanding that Khan be removed from the party as his statements were driving a wedge in the party. Khan had alleged that Vishwas is trying to take control of the party and called him a Bharatiya Janata Party worker.
The party criticised both Khan and Vishwas for speaking to the media.
Vishwas had also spoken to the media after their civic poll loss to introspect rather than blame electronic voting machines. He had also released a video last month where he questioned the AAP-led Delhi government for forgetting its agenda to tackle corruption