Arvind Kejriwal to Return to Face Infighting in AAP, As Kumar Vishwas Recieves Defamation Notice
NEW DELHI: After 10 days in the calm of a Bengaluru health farm, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal returns this evening to the capital and much turmoil in his Aam Aadmi Party or AAP.
AAP has been ravaged in Mr Kejriwal’s absence not just by internal wrangles in the top leadership but also by controversy over a sting operation conducted by a former party lawmaker, who alleges that Mr Kejriwal discussed with him how to poach Congress MLAs for support to an AAP government last year.
The former AAP lawmaker, Rajesh Garg, has now also sent a legal notice to senior party leader Kumar Vishwas, accusing him of “leaking” the recording of the phone call that purportedly featured Mr Kejriwal, to the media.Mr Garg alleges that he had sent the recording to Mr Vishwas last month to raise and discuss it in the party. He says Mr Vishwas has wrongly accused him of making the recording public and takes objection to his being called a “black-mailer and an opportunist person.”
“…you participated in the debates before various platforms/ TV news channels thereby giving untrue and false defamatory statements falsely alleging that the said audio recording had rather been leaked by our client,” the notice reads.
Mr Garg has demanded public apology from Mr Vishwas, failing which, he says, he will take the matter to court.
AAP has alleged that Mr Garg is disgruntled because he was denied ticket to contest the February Delhi elections which AAP swept, winning 67 of 70 seats. Mr Garg refutes that.
Rajesh Garg’s recording was aired on television channels last week even as AAP’s top leaders made public allegations and counter allegations over the sacking of founder-members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from a key party panel.
The differences between the two leaders and Arvind Kejriwal, days after the spectacular Delhi victory has distressed AAP volunteers, described as the backbone of the party, who have appealed to the leaders to patch up.
