Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were, on Saturday, removed from the National Executive of the party.

A proposal to remove them was moved at the National Council meeting and was adopted with majority. Mr. Yadav’s supporters Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha were also removed from the National Executive.

Mr. Yadav alleged that half of those at the National Council meeting were non-voting members.

Earlier, when Mr. Yadav came to the venue, some AAP volunteers raised slogans against him as he struggled to talk to reporters.

"There was gundagiri (hooliganism) at the meeting and Mr. Kejriwal did nothing to stop it. This is a shameful time for AAP, but don't judge it by today's tragedy," Mr. Yadav said.

“Every MLA was given ten buses to get supporters to heckle me; what is happening to the movement is sad,” he added. “Whenever political power, money and the will to change the system collide — the latter always prevails.”

Mr. Yadav sat on a dharna at the venue of the National Council meeting over his volunteers being denied entry for the meeting, and refused to enter the meeting which was already under way.

Earlier in the day, Mr. Yadav shared a letter on Twitter from Retd. Admiral L. Ramdas, AAP-Lokpal, stating he would not be present in-person at the NC meeting because he was told by the party general secretary that “only MLAs and MPs were invited apart from authorised NC members.”

'All options open, can move court against removal'

Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan did not rule out taking legal recourse against their removal. Attacking Mr. Kejriwal for his “dictatorial” tendencies, Mr. Bhushan told reporters that all options were open to them to challenge the decision.

“It is true that we can move the court, Election Commission or call another meeting of the National Council. All options are open,” he said.

The two senior leaders also alleged that Mr. Kejriwal had threatened to resign if they were not removed from the National Executive.