Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal

Did the Swaraj movement launched by expelled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav make the party so allergic to the word that it is rewriting its party script? In a swift change on its website, AAP has quietly deleted the paragraph that mentioned Swaraj.

"Democracy is popular self rule, but the current practice of democracy negates this ideal and reduces the citizens to mere subjects. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) aims to restore power to the people, so as to realise the promise of Swaraj enshrined in our Constitution."

This entire paragraph is now missing from the webpage that enrols members/ volunteers for AAP. Earlier this paragraph was followed by another one: "I am a citizen of India. I am above 18 years of age. I am not a member of any political party. I believe in the objectives and thinking of the party and I am willing to fully participate in achieving the objective of the party." The enroller had to check the box besides this text to complete the enrolment procedure.

"They may argue the Swaraj is there in the party's Constitution. They would like to relegate Swaraj to the confines of the Constitution and not put it to practice. By removing word Swaraj from the enrolment procedure, AAP wants to indirectly convey to new members that Swaraj is no more a priority for the party," said Vikrant Karnik, former AAP Thane municipal district convener.

Predictably, AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai said that Swaraj was part of the Constitution and also of the party's ideology. However, he refused to comment specifically on the removal of Swaraj from the online enrolment page. "I do not know about this. But I could say this that removal of the word Swaraj may not have been done purposely," said Bajpai.

Idealists who have either quit or are on the verge of leaving the party believe that AAP has made several tweaks to the party procedure which they think is undemocratic and lacks transparency.

Condemning the dictatorial attitude of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Maharashtra unit of AAP, Maruti Bhapkar, one of its founding members, on Monday quit the party along with 376 activists. Holding a press conference in Pune, Bhapkar declared allegiance to 'Swaraj Abhiyan' launched by the expelled leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav.

Earlier, any aggrieved member could directly approach the Lokpal or Lokayutka if they were not satisfied with the decision of party secretary on their complaint.

However, the AAP website now mentions that members could send their complaints to the Lokpal/Lokayukta through the party secretary with no mention that they could also directly approach the Lokpal or Lokayutka in case they are still aggrieved.

"As long as the party Constitution mentions that members could approach Lokpal/Lokayukta, there is no problem that the website does not mention it," said Bajpai.

