Reconciliation talks between the two warring factions in AAP have collapsed following which two prominent leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on Thursday accused Arvind Kejriwal camp of trying to force them to resign from the national executive and not heeding to any of their concerns.
In an open letter to Kejriwal two days ahead of AAP's crucial national council meeting, Bhushan and Yadav said the the message conveyed to them during reconciliation talks was that either they should resign gracefully or face removal from the national executive.
Taking to micro blogging site Twitter, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said, "Talks with PB and YY failed. They insisting on removing AK from National Conv post. NC to decide on 28July weather to remove AK or not!"
He further tweeted, "Despite accepting all their demands they are insisting to remove AK. In public they say AK is the leader, in pvt they insist on his removal. No effort to remove Arvind Kejriwal is accepted to me. Let the NC decide on 28 March now."
Meanwhile, ridiculing the claim that Bhushan and he have resigned from the National Executive, in a series of tweets Yadav said, "I hear funny news about the PAC accepting our resignation. Will my colleagues please produce a copy of the resignation letter?"
He further added, "What is being passed off as "resignation letter" is a note for internal negotiations. We said we will resign if 5 conditions were met. Ridiculous claim that we insisted on AK's removal. This wasn't mentioned in our note, never came up for discussion. Can they give any proof?"
"What is being passed off as "resignation letter" is a note for internal negotiations. We said we will resign if 5 conditions were met." Yadav tweeted.
Stating that the main issue is to weaken Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leader Ashish Khetan accused Yogendra Yadav of doublespeak.
AAP leader Ashutosh, known to be a Kejriwal loyalist, said talks have failed as Bhushan and Yadav were adamant on removal of Kejriwal as the national convenor.
"Talks failed. Prashant and Yogendra adamant on Arvind's removal from the chair of national convenor," Ashutosh tweeted.
In another tweet, he said, "Party is willing to accept all demands of Prashant/ Yogendra, not removal of Arvind. Why PB/YY are insistent on Arvind's removal? I am amazed."
In their letter, Yadav and Bhushan, who were already removed from party's powerful Political Affairs Committee, said they were told that Kejriwal was not willing to be the national convenor if they are part of the national executive. "This is exactly what you had said when demanding our removal from PAC."
The talks had begun last week with the aim of bridging the trust deficit between the two groups.
In the letter, Yadav and Bhushan said they never made any attempt to dislodge Kejriwal from convenor's position in the party and that they always extended whatever support they could give to him.
"We have been compelled to communicate to you through this open letter. It is ten days since the two of us asked you for an appointment on your return from Bangalore. But you have not yet managed to find the time slot for us," Bhushan and Yadav said in the letter.
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