Capt Gopinath quits AAP, criticises 'shoot and scoot' politics

New Delhi: GR Gopinath, who pioneered low-cost air travel in India, quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday citing growing differences within the party leadership and criticised Arvind Kejriwal for “shoot and scoot” politics. [caption id=“attachment_1540681” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Captain Gopinath.[/caption] In a communication to AAP’s Karnataka Convenor Prithvi Reddy, he said, “I would like to resign from the membership of the Aam Admi Party with immediate effect because of increasing differences with the party leadership and its ways.” Gopinath, who joined AAP in January this year, said he had “expressed most of my views also in the media including today” and wished “the party well in its future endeavours”. When contacted, Gopinath confirmed the development in a phonecall from Toulouse in France where the headquarters of aircraft manufacturing major, Airbus, is located. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Gopinath said: “I had increasing differences with the AAP and today was the last straw.. (Kejriwal not giving bail bond). It was not proper for me to continue and at the same time criticise the party.” He had founded the first low-cost carrier Air Deccan in 2003, which was taken over by Vijay Mallya and named ‘Kingfisher Red’ that has now closed down. In a blog titled ‘Has Kejriwal lost his way’ today, he criticised the functioning of AAP chief. He said when Kejriwal took on Robert Vadra on corruption charges, “the BJP loved it and also went in for the kill against the Congress”, Gopinath said, adding that Kejriwal then took on Nitin Gadkari. “Kejriwal was brazen and broke that rule. He went for the jugular. What was rumoured in whispers, he stood up to in public, which made him the darling of the people and the media…. Kejriwal did not stop there. He made allegations against other high and mighty of the land,” the blog said. “It’s one thing to gossip about it in private but when one holds a responsible position as head of a political party, one has to take responsibility and not, as some one described it, indulge in shoot and scoot politics, denigrating people’s reputation, however credible the rumours may seem and however tempting the chance to score brownie points or capture media attention and public sympathy as a crusader against corruption,” Gopinath said in the blog. PTI