Difference of opinion not considered a violation: Prashant Bhushan responds to AAP show cause notice

Aam Aadmi Party rebel leader Prashant Bhushan has responded to the party’s show cause issued to him for “anti party activities” saying that a difference of opinion could not be considered a violation of the party’s code of conduct. [caption id=“attachment_2185005” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prashant Bhushan. PTI[/caption] Replying to AAP Secretary Pankaj Gupta, IBN Live reports that Bhushan wrote a letter which read, “Members, other than office bearers shall be free to express their opinion within and outside the party, unless there is a specific direction to the contrary by the party for a specific period. Mere expression of a difference of opinion will not be considered as violation of the code of conduct unless it violates the objectives of the party. You now want to become judges of your own cause.” Firstpost had earlier reported that on Friday, AAP had issued a show-cause notice to Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, which was one of the final steps towards their expulsion. Bhushan called the disciplinary committee that issued him a notice illegal and said its members, Pankaj Gupta and Ashish Khetan, had made serious allegations against him and Yogendra Yadav. “I am not aware as to who has constituted this National Disciplinary Committee and when and how this was done,” Bhushan said in this NDTV report, adding, “You had complained against me and now want to become judges of your cause.” Prashant Bhushan also said in his letter that AAP’s actions are reminiscent of Stalinist purges. “When you remove NE (National Executive) member or even a Lokpal for merely questioning the illegal and unjustifiable actions of the convener or those who are in control of the party, when you label any dissenter as traitor and charge him with anti-party activities, when you instil fear among the members of the party for merely questioning the party moving away from its founding principles, it does remind one of a Stalinist purge,” said his letter. Yadav and Bhushan had earlier this week held a ‘Swaraj Samwad ’ meeting in the national capital, to discuss the future course of action following the party break up. According to this India Today report, the meeting included an internal poll, wherein 93 % of the attendees admitted that AAP wasn’t following its Swaraj for all agenda, and there was also no confirmation about the formation of a new party. DNA reports that during the meeting, the duo, along with Shanti Bhushan, attacked the AAP leadership for not fulfilling promises which it made earlier as a new political outfit. Yadav had earlier said that AAP had leaked the contents of the notice to the media before he received it, labelling it a joke and a travesty of justice.   With inputs from IANS