Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Kumar Vishwas has hit out at the party bigwigs over exclusion of his name from the list of three nominees for the Rajya Sabha.
Appearing on India TV Chairman and Editor-in Chief Rajat Sharma’s weekly show, Aap Ki Adalat, the AAP leader said that he was not invited by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) to finalise the names.
He said that the "AAP does not belong to a coterie (mandali) of two or three persons, the party belongs to lakhs of workers who are there outside".
"Mere lahze mein ji-huzoor na tha, Isse zyada mera kasoor na tha. (My only fault was that I was never sycophantic)" he replied to a question.
The dissident AAP leader also listed out several instances in the recent past when he was sidelined by the party leadership.
Vishwas also admitted that he had once said, that out of the top three (in AAP), one became the CM, the other Deputy CM, and he (Vishwas) was left out.
Further he said that he had opposed when CM Arvind Kejriwal had demanded from the Modi government that it must produce evidence of the surgical strike against Pakistan.
As it happened:
* Kumar Vishwas lauds Sushma Swaraj for speaking against Pakistan in Hindi at the United Nations
10:48 pm: No links with the BJP. Am I a BJP supporter if I choose to speak in favour of the armed forced?: Kumar Vishwas
* On Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan he said: "I tried, but could not talk. Yogendra (Yadav) was his elder brother, Anna Hazare was like his father, and I his younger brother. I still wish that he remains a leader, and let the party expand."
* I did say in the past that I am not in politics for posts or power,... but I did not say while joining politics that the fruits of my seven years of struggle will be handed over to 'Ajgar'chhap' (python-like) Guptaji.
10:31 pm: For many nights, we listened to abuses at kavi sammelans (gathering of poets). As a poet I had boosted the morale of our jawans in Siachen and Kargil. Should I as a poet remain silent? Did I give a wrong advice (to Kejriwal)? I was not his (Kejriwal's) enemy, I was his brother, I wanted that if he was a patriot, the people of India should view him so, but I had to bear the loss. Sometimes you lose your life in accidents while saving people.
* Comparing himself with the Mahabharata warrior Abhimanyu, Kumar Vishwas says, "I cannot say whether I have won or lost, but in the battle for truth, my fame as a warrior will be written in bold letters, for which I, my parents and my party workers will feel proud of."
10:30 pm: Similarly Aam Aadmi Party does not belong to a coterie of two or three persons, it belongs to lakhs of workers waiting outside. Two or three persons may be speaking out against me, the common party worker may be addressing any leader as 'ji', but he addresses me as 'Kumar bhaiya', and this is my strength in the party.
* Kumar Vishwas reminds that it was the great strategist Chanakya who, when charged with sedition, replied that "only Nanda dynasty is not Magadh empire.
Similarly I was asked to do only door-to-door campaign during Goa polls. In Delhi, our party did not lose MCD polls because of me, there were deficiencies in our party's policies and strategy.
10:27 pm: I was told that the 'fanatic movement' in Punjab was unhappy with me. Even today whenever I visit the US or elsewhere, 15-20 Khalistani supporters stage protest outside my shows with anti-India placards. For me, it is a matter of pride that those who are anti-India, consider me as an enemy, but I will never waver from my stand.
10:25 pm: Similarly I was asked to do only door-to-door campaign during Goa polls. In Delhi, our party did not lose MCD polls because of me, there were deficiencies in our party's policies and strategy.
10:14 pm: I would like to congratulate the Congress party… the party which failed to win even a single seat, has managed to get its defeated candidate elected to the Rajya Sabha. We should learn politics from the Congress.
10:13 pm: During the Delhi assembly polls, he (Sushil Gupta) was addressing a rally in Moti Nagar, when Sushil Gupta, the Congress candidate passed by in his carcade and showed him a 'V' sign. "I said on the mike that the people will crush his money power, and they did. He lost the election, but now he will be our Rajya Sabha member."
10:09 pm: There seems to be something wrong with us. To say, that the whole of India fears Modi is wrong. People like me threw their jobs to fight the Congress. I worked in a university for 17 years, but one day in a TV debate when Congress leader Digvijaya Singh asked me, how many days do you go to college to teach, I threw my job and joined the movement. Similarly, thousands of people threw their jobs, but why is it so that today nobody is ready to accept our Rajya Sabha ticket?
10:06 pm: Even the Panchatantra says that if you plot something, do it properly. They're now saying my name was not there and the media was only speculating, but I was not invited to the PAC (political affairs committee) on grounds that my name was there for consideration.
10:04 pm: It so happened that when the MLA who had come over from LJP (Amanatullah) attacked me, I had said this in a private conversation, which was recorded secretly by the brother-in-law of my 40-year-long friend. I always speak from my heart. I had also told the leaders that had the people not handed over power to you, would you have insulted me in this manner?
* Kumar Vishwas admits that he had once said, that out of the top three (in AAP), one became the CM, the other Deputy CM, and he (Vishwas) was left out.
10:04 pm: The question is not of (being denied ticket to) Rajya Sabha. For the last seven months, I had become a mere pawn. Shivgami Devi of this Mahishmati (kingdom) is somebody else, who bring in a new Katappa every time to kill Bahubalis like me.
