Will AAP be yet another mass movement that flourished and failed?

If AAP was India's first genuine post-independence mass movement that acquired political acceptance faster than anybody else, the party appears to be heading for a downfall sooner than what most cynics predicted.

An AAP volunteer . AFP

It's not the dissident voices from within the party, such as that of Vinod Kumar Binny and Tina Sharma who seemed to be disgruntled for not getting posts of power, nor the ambitious new recruits in other parts of the country who are speaking out of line, that will discredit the movement, but the inability of the AAP top leadership in regulating its growth that ordinary people in Delhi have set off.

Without a thoughtful intervention, the party is at the risk of an implosion that will yet again show the world that mass movements are inherently prone to decline or decay after their romantic rise.

If the African National Congress (ANC), that began as a mass uprising against apartheid and subsequently a hugely successful political formation, can flounder despite Nelson Mandela and a wider liberation movement that had both trade unions and the Left, the AAP cannot be an exception. In fact, the failure of ANC's future was evident after the first democratic elections itself.

The main reason for the ANC's decline was that the party was burdened by trust, responsibility and expectations of governance while it couldn't continue its mass movement towards economic freedom. The failures of Mandela's predecessors Thabo Mbeki and the current President Jacob Zuma are examples of how power kills political movements and even fails and corrupts its leadership. The country in fact is in desperate need for another uprising against inequality, corruption, unemployment and poor governance, issues that ANC once stood for.

During the romantic uprising of AAP, its leaders did compare their party with ANC. One idea that the AAP camp spoke of was the broad nation-wide alliances that the ANC had forged. In its efforts to scale up, the AAP also wanted to be a confederation of people's movements across the country.

Without alternatives to oppose them, the ANC is still in power and is most likely to win the next round of elections too; but the AAP can be thrown out of its dream ride faster, not just because of its wily rivals such as the BJP and the Congress, but because it's on a cruise that it has no control over. The party was not ready for power in Delhi, but went for it unprepared and it wanted to expand across the country in a phased manner, but got carried away by the Delhi results and enthusiasm of urban Indians.

Now, they have a double burden of meeting the sky-high expectations that they themselves had set in Delhi, and scaling up across India to fight in over 400 Lok Sabha seats. For an urban mass movement of common people, with an organisational history of less than a year, this is unreal and absurdly ambitious. The odds are heavily against them. The biggest threat will be the antecedents of people and movements that join the AAP.

This is the problem with petty bourgeoisie democracy - even those who want to move away from the beaten track falls in line sooner than later. The Congress, before independence was an exciting mass movement, which in no time fell into utter decadence and a never-ending dynasty; and the communists, who interestingly had an AAP-lingo in the 1960s, fell into the trap of violence, capital, opportunistic secularism, and a third front substitute to the BJP and the Congress.

Although not to second-guess AAP's political future, it will be interesting to look at what a CPM central committee resolution said in 1967: "the main pillar of out tactics is a united front from below. That is so because there is a powerful urge for unity in the masses" and the "Communists have to strengthen this unity and turn it into an active political force." Replace the communists with AAP, you get its political trajectory so far. And look at where the CPM is now.

"In India any revolution can succeed only under the direct leadership of the proletariat, with cities as the leading centre of revolution," was the CPI's take. Kejriwal swears by the leadership of "aam aadmi" (not too different from the proletariat) and AAP is a city phenomenon.

Why do mass movements fail?

American sociologists Herbert Blumer, a pioneer in the study of social movements, had identified for stages in the lifecycle of such movements: social ferment, popular excitement, formalisation, and institutionalisation. We have witnessed the social ferment, popular excitement and the formalisation in the journey of AAP so far. What they are failing is in the institutionalisation, which incidentally also includes its running the government in Delhi and the ambitious scale up across the country.

The first three promising and romantic steps were co-created with the people, but for the last stage which will define their future, the AAP is all alone and are under tremendous scrutiny. It's a tedious job that it has to deliver as a government while dealing with the trappings of petty bourgeoisie politics - "aam aadmis" such as Binny and Sharma and thousands of others asking for positions of power, people such as Captain Gopinath defining what AAP should be, and factions in Tamil Nadu openly fighting for authority.

Scholars who worked on Blumer's postulates redefined his classification further. According to them, the four stages of mass movements are these: emergence, coalescence, bureaucratisation, and DECLINE!

For the AAP, the emergence and coalescence have been a dream ride while bureaucratisation is proving to be quite messy. Unless it takes urgent steps, it will slip into decline in no time.

The AAP has history and the work of others to learn from. It should realise that even with the best intentions, it cannot have default immunity to the pitfalls of petty bourgeoisie politics. Going by the rate at which it's handling governance in Delhi and the speed with which it's filling its ranks, it certainly appears to be in trouble. When even the natural course of mass movements gaining political legitimacy fails, artificially accelerating the process is as risky as getting too rich too soon.

Rahul Gandhi faces his own tryst with destiny

New Delhi: After years in the shadows as a reluctant heir-apparent, Rahul Gandhi is set for his own tryst with destiny, to lead the ruling Congress party in elections, due by May, that it only has a slim chance of winning.

Congress, in power for the last decade, is struggling in opinion polls with a string of corruption scandals and a reputation for poor governance engulfing its administration. A resurgent opposition - Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party - an anti-corruption party, appear to have a hold on public opinion.

Congress's response is likely to be to bring the 43-year-old heir of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty to the forefront, in the hope that the charisma of the family can still bring in votes.

Rahul Gandhi is set to lead the ruling Congress party in elections. Reuters.

It will hold a meeting on Friday where delegates are likely to formally choose Gandhi to lead the party in the election, although his mother, Sonia, is expected to remain the Congress chief.

Gandhi has much to prove but aides say he has thrust himself into the centre of the campaign, launching a series of moves to clean up the 128-year-old Congress party and stem the slide in its fortunes. They say he has asked for the right to name at least 100 of the party candidates to the 543-member parliament and that he will ditch many of the old guard powerbrokers who have given Congress a bad reputation.

"There are certain changes Mr Gandhi has wanted to do, they may come through. Changes whether dramatic or subtle, I don't know what you would call them, (but) they will be substantial," Sachin Pilot, corporate affairs minister and one of the stars in Gandhi's political team, told Reuters.

Critics say Gandhi has depended on his family name for power; that he is too lightweight and has barely registered his presence in parliament although he has been a member for the last decade.

"In a structured party, Mr Rahul Gandhi would still have been struggling to get his first assignment as an office-bearer in the party structure or in a legislative body," said Arun Jaitley, a senior leader of the BJP.

"It is only in a personality and family-dominated set-up like the Congress that he can be nominated as the unquestioned supremo."

The Tryst

For decades after Jawaharlal Nehru, Rahul's great-grandfather, delivered his stirring "tryst with destiny" speech on the eve of independence from Britain 67 years ago, the Gandhi family has dominated politics in the world's biggest democracy.

The succession of prime ministers and Congress party leaders from the family echoed the right to rule of an English monarchy. And the assassinations of Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi when she was prime minister in 1984 and her son Rajiv as he campaigned for elections in 1991 brought an air of tragic glamour akin to that of America's Kennedy clan. Rahul is the son of Rajiv Gandhi.

He is a vice-president of Congress and was in charge of the party's campaign in state elections in 2013, in which it fared disastrously.

The Hindu nationalist BJP won three of five state assembly contests and its flag-bearer, Narendra Modi, remains the front-runner by a distance, campaigning on a platform of decisive leadership to revive economic growth that under the Congress fell to its slowest pace in a decade.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh conceded that the government had failed to generate employment in manufacturing, to control inflation and combat corruption. He said he would not be a candidate to retain his post after the election and strongly suggested that the reins be handed over to Gandhi.

"Rahul Gandhi has outstanding credentials to be nominated as the candidate and I hope our party will take that decision at an appropriate time," Singh said.

Gandhi has in recent months tried to style himself as a maverick and make clear he condemns corruption. In September, he denounced an executive order from the government allowing convicted lawmakers to stay in office and stand in elections.

But the new AAP, which formed the government in Delhi state after local elections last month, appears to have the lock on the anti-corruption and clean governance platform.

Hundreds of people from students to business executives are flocking to the party, inspired by its promise to clean up politics and the symbols of power that ordinary Indians have come to detest.

"The impact of AAP is there, their messaging has been brilliant. The issues that they are agitating about - simplicity in politics, austerity in politics, these are legitimate values," said Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh, who is involved in formulating Congress strategy.

Budget Airline

In a symbolic move this week, Gandhi ditched the party corporate jet and travelled on a campaign tour by a budget airline.

At the airport, barely 20 people greeted him, in line with his instructions, a change from the usual sea of partymen brought in by the busload to drape him in garlands.

But old Congress hands say it's hard to bring change in a party that has ruled for nearly 55 out of 67 years since India gained independence.

Tech entrepreneur R K Misra, who was tapped by Gandhi to work on a membership drive in the youth wing of the Congress, said Gandhi had struggled to revamp the gargantuan party because other leaders did not share his beliefs.

"Gandhi's lack of proven success in elections was a hindrance", said Misra, who is no longer with Congress."His desire to change things was there from the beginning," he added, recalling that Gandhi told him the reason he was starting with the youth wing was because he couldn't challenge the heavyweights in the main organisation.

Now, with the party fighting with its back to the wall, Gandhi may have a chance. "He can say 'Now you let me run the battle the way I want.' He's going to retire the old generals," said Misra.

Reuters

AAP live: Yogendra Yadav asks if Binny is backed by BJP

12.42 pm: Binny told us conflicting things are different points of time, says Yadav

Defending the party's initial stand against Binny, Yadav said that it was the AAP MLA who had misled us. "First he said it was not about him becoming a minister. It was about his self respect. Now he only is saying that his rights have been snatched," says Yadav, lobbing the ball back in Binny's court. "We have no reason to not believe one of our own party leaders otherwise."

"It's good that people have many expectations from us. It keeps us on our toes. However, with that, it also makes sense to keep a reasonable sense of time when it comes to getting things done. We are working hard to fulfill all our promises. Also, we will seek public opinion on issues we are confused on, issues on which we are unable to gauge what the public wants. The issues we are working on at the moment are ones on which the party already has a clear stand. The challenges now are the 'hows' and 'whens' which the government is working on already," he said.

12.16 pm : Yogendra Yadav promises disciplinary action against Binny

"There is place for differences, dissent and disagreement in our party. But there is no place for indiscipline. This is a very promising phase for India and Indian politics. Nobody has the right to make such in-disciplined display of dissent," he said.

He pointed out that in the two weeks that they have been in the government they have kept their promise of free water, slashed power rates, CAG audit of discoms, anti-corruption helpline etc. "Strangely, his address seemed like a speech written by someone else. You would remember, Binny's speech was uncannily similar to what BJP MLA Harsh Vardhan had to say about AAP in his Delhi Assembly address. I wonder why he sounded exactly like him," he said.

He has been giving hints to the media for so long now, said Yadav, pointing out that Binny never bothered to take these issues up with any complaint redressing facility within the party. "If he had so many issues with the manifesto, with our decisions, was it not his responsibility towards the nation to talk about it then. Before the polls, after the polls. Why is he bringing all this up now?"

Yadav hinted that Binny's disgruntlement stems from being denied a berth in the cabinet and then a Lok Sabha ticket.

"He asked for a Lok Sabha ticket and we denied. However, his allegations that we have already picked Lok Sabha candidates is untrue and false. If we have, tells us who is contesting from where. Consequently, you'll also get to see who all are contesting the polls," says Yadav.

10.33 am: Binny calls Ashutosh an opportunist and Kejriwal an autocrat

'Who is an opportunist? Ashutosh is an opportunist," said Binny. He added that Kejriwal's ways of working are autocratic and he doesn't agree with. However, he fails to furnish evidence that Congress and AAP are a team and had a backdoor arrangement before the polls. Asked if he has proof of the same, he said, "I heard this from sources. If I had proof, I would have furnished it already."

He also said that he would not leave the party and would keep protesting like this every time the party strayed from its objectives. "If the party wants me to quit I will still support them in the House on the issues I feel is right. I will oppose them on the issues I don't agree with."

Binny added that AAP has no intention to bring in good governance. "They want to scrape through two months and then channel their energies into the Lok Sabha poll and plunge into the usual dynamics of power," he added.

10.25 am: Why is the party not protesting about women's safety now?

Citing the gang-rape of the Danish tourist, Binny says, "Where are all the protest rallies now? This party should be ashamed. They talk a lot about women's safety and this is what happens after they come to power and they don't even comment on the issue."

He also brought up the Janlokpal issue and questioned why the Janlokpal Bill was not passed yet. "Kejriwal had said the Janlokpal Bill will be passed on 26 January. Where is the preparation for that?"

"They approved the water and electricity policies immediately to appease certain people. But now they are not doing anything," he alleged.

10.17 am: Finally, he talks about the Lok Sabha polls whose ticket he has been denied

"There are several forms of corruption. Taking someone's rights and giving it to someone else, is also a form of corruption," he said, finally making it clear, where his outburst stems from. "Shazia Ilmi, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai are already campaigning in the constituencies they are supposed to fight the Lok Sabha polls from. When then is the party making a show of taking public opinion before choosing its candidates," he says.

Again, he doesn't mention which constituencies Ilmi and Rai are campaigning in. He only mentions Kumar Vishwas' rally in Amethi and says that there has been no formal announcement of his candidature. However, Vishwas himself had announced long back that he will be contesting from Amethi and had even invited Modi and Rahul to fight from the same constituency. In fact, that is the reason he was made to lead AAP's Amethi rally. Binny, however, chooses to ignore that bit of development and instead accuse that the party of not choosing poll candidates democratically.

He alleged that AAP was a party that could only rustle up drama and could take no solid action.

10.13 am: AAP has used me, says Binny

Binny also trashes the allegations of personal ambitions against him. "What did that party have when I joined it? it had nothing. What would they have given him? I gave them my name, my ideas which they used to win the polls in Delhi," he says.

"It hurts me when AAP says that I want to become a cabinet minister. What will I want from them? I have had a political career for 10 years unlike them. What would I want from them?" he said.

10.04 am: Electricity bills have been slashed for selected people Strangely enough, Binny, who presumably was privy to the manifesto when it was made, chose to brought up flaws in the AAP manifesto in this press conference. He said that Kejriwal was promised to slash electricity bills by 50 percent for everyone in Delhi. But after he came to power, he manipulated the clause to benefit a select few. "From what he had said, it was clear that if there was a bill of Rs 1 lakh it will be slashed to Rs 50,000. However, now they have made some changes to benefit a select few," he added, without mentioning what kind of changes that were made to the clause and who all now stand to benefit from the reduced electricity bills.

9.57 am: Vinod Binny criticises 700 litres free water clause Vinod Binny questions the 700 litres free water provision. "Delhi residents were tricked by word play. The manifesto mentioned that 700 litres of water will be given for free. But a clause was added that if someone uses more than 700 litres of water, that person will have to pay for the entire quantity of water. How does that make sense? AAP tricked people," said Binny.

9.45 am:  What is Vinod Binny going to say today? For a two-year-old party tasting immense power for the first time, the AAP has managed to keep its flock together well for the time being. No MLA deflected post the elections even when the party had declared they it would not form the government. However, like any other political organisation fraught with many personal ambitions as collective aspirations, this party too has its share of differences and they have started to show up, a bit too prematurely and way too publicly. MLA Vinod Binny kicked up a storm when he allegedly rebelled at being denied a berth in AAP's cabinet in the past. Both the party and Binny had then come out and told the media that there was no such problem within the party.

Vinod Binny. IBN Live.

But on Wednesday, Binny lashed out at the government in Delhi saying that it has failed to deliver on its promises to the electorate of Delhi. "The government is not fulfilling the promises we made to the people," Binny told ANI today. I feel party is drifting away from the issues on the basis of which the party came to power, he said. "Tomorrow in a press conference I will disclose more details and if need be will sit on a hunger strike", he added. Binny is a former Congress party leader who had quit the party in 2011 and later joined the AAP. He had also won elections twice before as an independent MLA and in 2013 won in the Laxmi Nagar seat. After party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny accused the Aam Aadmi Party of failing to live up to its promises, party leader Arvind Kejriwal hinted that the party MLA's outburst may be linked to being denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Binny in turn has called the AAP chief a liar. "First he had come to me seeking a ministerial post, and we rejected the demand." "After that he said 'I will contest the Lok Sabha elections'. He had come to my house to seek a Lok Sabha ticket. The party has decided that no sitting MLA will get a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections," Kejriwal told reporters today. The Delhi Chief Minister added that there was a meeting of all 70 candidates who contested the Delhi polls but the MLA did not raise a single point in the meeting. "I do not know what his intentions are and I do not even want to get into them. We are the most sensitive government towards resolving issues. We welcome criticism, be it from the public, media or BJP," he said.

Vinod Binny’s AAP outburst: Real concern or just sour grapes?

Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party MLA Vinod Binny today held a press conference in New Delhi to announce his grievances about Arvind Kejriwal's party. Though he kicked off his press conference on the pretext of addressing his concerns about issues of governance, it soon dissolved into an angry rant about AAP's internal practices that Binny was in disagreement with.

He started the press meet by referring to the 700 litres free water promise that the AAP had made in its manifesto. "Delhi residents were tricked by word play. The manifesto mentioned that 700 litres of water will be given for free. But a clause was added that if someone uses more than 700 litres of water, that person will have to pay for the entire quantity of water. How does that make sense? AAP tricked people," he said. He also repeatedly said that AAP had conned the people of Delhi by adding the clause and not talking about it in public.

However, when the Jal Board had announced the decision to give 700 litres of free water to all Delhi households with a working water meter, it had categorically mentioned during then press meet that if more than 700 litres of water was used the entire water will have to be paid for.

Vinod Binny. IBN Live.

Then Binny went on to allege that electricity bills have not been subsidized as promised, and his understanding of the internal discussions on the issue showed him that not everyone would stand to benefit from the move.

"Kejriwal had promised that if you have run up a bill Rs 1 lakh, you'll have to pay a bill of Rs 50,000. And if you have a bill of Rs 1,000, you'll pay Rs 500. But they are now coming up with a policy which will not benefit everyone. They had promised slashed bills for everyone irrespective of the fact that there are commercial establishments alongside households," he said.

He then went on a tirade against the party, failing to veil the fact that he wasn't happy about having been denied a cabinet berth and a Lok Sabha ticket consequently.

"They have not made any effort to pass the Janlokpal yet. If they don't do it by 27 January, I will go on a hunger-strike if required," he said. "You can't give people dates and don't adhere to it. They have made the water free to appease and con people," he added.

Then, in an animated voice, he came to the issue of distribution of tickets for the Lok Sabha polls.

"There are several forms of corruption. Taking someone's rights and giving it to someone else, is also a form of corruption," he said, finally making it clear, where his outburst stems from. "Shazia Ilmi, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai are already campaigning in the constituencies they are supposed to fight the Lok Sabha polls from. When then is the party making a show of taking public opinion before choosing its candidates," he says.

Again, he didn't mention which constituencies Ilmi and Rai are campaigning in. He only mentioned Kumar Vishwas' rally in Amethi and says that there has been no formal announcement of his candidature. However, Vishwas himself had announced long back that he will be contesting from Amethi and had even invited Modi and Rahul to fight from the same constituency. In fact, that is the reason he was made to lead AAP's Amethi rally. Binny, however, chooses to ignore that development and instead accuse the party of not choosing poll candidates democratically.

He alleged that AAP was a party that could only rustle up drama and could take no solid action.

He then went on to suggest that the Congress and AAP are hand in glove in conning the people of Delhi. Asked where he procured the information from, Binny was only willing to quote 'sources'. "I don't have any proof. Sources told me that they are meeting and taking decisions together. Behind the declarations of transparency a sinister plan was taking shape," he said dramatically.

"When I joined AAP, the party had nothing. What could they have given me. They used my name and my suggestions to win the polls. I have made the party stand on its feet," he claimed, debunking suggestions that he is disgruntled at being left out in the cold.

"Arvind Kejriwal runs the party like an autocrat," he then alleged. "My name had come up in the list of ministers. I went to the Left Governor and told him I don't want to be a minister," Binny said, without caring to explain why he refused to become a minister when the party had included his name in the list.

"I am not after power. I am not quitting the party. But I will protest the malpractices," he said, "I will also back them on the issues that I agree with." From this particular rant at least, the AAP can't count that out!

 

AAP live: Will take disciplinary action against Binny, says Yadav

10.33 am: Binny calls Ashutosh an opportunist and Kejriwal an autocrat

'Who is an opportunist? Ashutosh is an opportunist," said Binny. He added that Kejriwal's ways of working are autocratic and he doesn't agree with. However, he fails to furnish evidence that Congress and AAP are a team and had a backdoor arrangement before the polls. Asked if he has proof of the same, he said, "I heard this from sources. If I had proof, I would have furnished it already."

He also said that he would not leave the party and would keep protesting like this every time the party strayed from its objectives. "If the party wants me to quit I will still support them in the House on the issues I feel is right. I will oppose them on the issues I don't agree with."

Binny added that AAP has no intention to bring in good governance. "They want to scrape through two months and then channel their energies into the Lok Sabha poll and plunge into the usual dynamics of power," he added.

10.25 am: Why is the party not protesting about women's safety now?

Citing the gang-rape of the Danish tourist, Binny says, "Where are all the protest rallies now? This party should be ashamed. They talk a lot about women's safety and this is what happens after they come to power and they don't even comment on the issue."

He also brought up the Janlokpal issue and questioned why the Janlokpal Bill was not passed yet. "Kejriwal had said the Janlokpal Bill will be passed on 26 January. Where is the preparation for that?"

"They approved the water and electricity policies immediately to appease certain people. But now they are not doing anything," he alleged.

10.17 am: Finally, he talks about the Lok Sabha polls whose ticket he has been denied

"There are several forms of corruption. Taking someone's rights and giving it to someone else, is also a form of corruption," he said, finally making it clear, where his outburst stems from. "Shazia Ilmi, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai are already campaigning in the constituencies they are supposed to fight the Lok Sabha polls from. When then is the party making a show of taking public opinion before choosing its candidates," he says.

Again, he doesn't mention which constituencies Ilmi and Rai are campaigning in. He only mentions Kumar Vishwas' rally in Amethi and says that there has been no formal announcement of his candidature. However, Vishwas himself had announced long back that he will be contesting from Amethi and had even invited Modi and Rahul to fight from the same constituency. In fact, that is the reason he was made to lead AAP's Amethi rally. Binny, however, chooses to ignore that bit of development and instead accuse that the party of not choosing poll candidates democratically.

He alleged that AAP was a party that could only rustle up drama and could take no solid action.

10.13 am: AAP has used me, says Binny

Binny also trashes the allegations of personal ambitions against him. "What did that party have when I joined it? it had nothing. What would they have given him? I gave them my name, my ideas which they used to win the polls in Delhi," he says.

"It hurts me when AAP says that I want to become a cabinet minister. What will I want from them? I have had a political career for 10 years unlike them. What would I want from them?" he said.

10.04 am: Electricity bills have been slashed for selected people Strangely enough, Binny, who presumably was privy to the manifesto when it was made, chose to brought up flaws in the AAP manifesto in this press conference. He said that Kejriwal was promised to slash electricity bills by 50 percent for everyone in Delhi. But after he came to power, he manipulated the clause to benefit a select few. "From what he had said, it was clear that if there was a bill of Rs 1 lakh it will be slashed to Rs 50,000. However, now they have made some changes to benefit a select few," he added, without mentioning what kind of changes that were made to the clause and who all now stand to benefit from the reduced electricity bills.

9.57 am: Vinod Binny criticises 700 litres free water clause Vinod Binny questions the 700 litres free water provision. "Delhi residents were tricked by word play. The manifesto mentioned that 700 litres of water will be given for free. But a clause was added that if someone uses more than 700 litres of water, that person will have to pay for the entire quantity of water. How does that make sense? AAP tricked people," said Binny.

9.45 am:  What is Vinod Binny going to say today? For a two-year-old party tasting immense power for the first time, the AAP has managed to keep its flock together well for the time being. No MLA deflected post the elections even when the party had declared they it would not form the government. However, like any other political organisation fraught with many personal ambitions as collective aspirations, this party too has its share of differences and they have started to show up, a bit too prematurely and way too publicly. MLA Vinod Binny kicked up a storm when he allegedly rebelled at being denied a berth in AAP's cabinet in the past. Both the party and Binny had then come out and told the media that there was no such problem within the party.

Vinod Binny. IBN Live.

But on Wednesday, Binny lashed out at the government in Delhi saying that it has failed to deliver on its promises to the electorate of Delhi. "The government is not fulfilling the promises we made to the people," Binny told ANI today. I feel party is drifting away from the issues on the basis of which the party came to power, he said. "Tomorrow in a press conference I will disclose more details and if need be will sit on a hunger strike", he added. Binny is a former Congress party leader who had quit the party in 2011 and later joined the AAP. He had also won elections twice before as an independent MLA and in 2013 won in the Laxmi Nagar seat. After party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny accused the Aam Aadmi Party of failing to live up to its promises, party leader Arvind Kejriwal hinted that the party MLA's outburst may be linked to being denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Binny in turn has called the AAP chief a liar. "First he had come to me seeking a ministerial post, and we rejected the demand." "After that he said 'I will contest the Lok Sabha elections'. He had come to my house to seek a Lok Sabha ticket. The party has decided that no sitting MLA will get a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections," Kejriwal told reporters today. The Delhi Chief Minister added that there was a meeting of all 70 candidates who contested the Delhi polls but the MLA did not raise a single point in the meeting. "I do not know what his intentions are and I do not even want to get into them. We are the most sensitive government towards resolving issues. We welcome criticism, be it from the public, media or BJP," he said.

Vinod Binny’s AAP outburst: Real concern or just a case of sour grapes?

Disgruntled Aam Aadmi Party MLA Vinod Binny today held a press conference in New Delhi to announce his grievances about Arvind Kejriwal's party. Though he kicked off his press conference on the pretext of addressing his concerns about issues of governance, it soon dissolved into an angry rant about AAP's internal practices that Binny was in disagreement with.

He started the press meet by referring to the 700 litres free water promise that the AAP had made in its manifesto. "Delhi residents were tricked by word play. The manifesto mentioned that 700 litres of water will be given for free. But a clause was added that if someone uses more than 700 litres of water, that person will have to pay for the entire quantity of water. How does that make sense? AAP tricked people," he said. He also repeatedly said that AAP had conned the people of Delhi by adding the clause and not talking about it in public.

However, when the Jal Board had announced the decision to give 700 litres of free water to all Delhi households with a working water meter, it had categorically mentioned during then press meet that if more than 700 litres of water was used the entire water will have to be paid for.

Vinod Binny. IBN Live.

Then Binny went on to allege that electricity bills have not been subsidized as promised, and his understanding of the internal discussions on the issue showed him that not everyone would stand to benefit from the move.

"Kejriwal had promised that if you have run up a bill Rs 1 lakh, you'll have to pay a bill of Rs 50,000. And if you have a bill of Rs 1,000, you'll pay Rs 500. But they are now coming up with a policy which will not benefit everyone. They had promised slashed bills for everyone irrespective of the fact that there are commercial establishments alongside households," he said.

He then went on a tirade against the party, failing to veil the fact that he wasn't happy about having been denied a cabinet berth and a Lok Sabha ticket consequently.

"They have not made any effort to pass the Janlokpal yet. If they don't do it by 27 January, I will go on a hunger-strike if required," he said. "You can't give people dates and don't adhere to it. They have made the water free to appease and con people," he added.

Then, in an animated voice, he came to the issue of distribution of tickets for the Lok Sabha polls.

"There are several forms of corruption. Taking someone's rights and giving it to someone else, is also a form of corruption," he said, finally making it clear, where his outburst stems from. "Shazia Ilmi, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai are already campaigning in the constituencies they are supposed to fight the Lok Sabha polls from. When then is the party making a show of taking public opinion before choosing its candidates," he says.

Again, he didn't mention which constituencies Ilmi and Rai are campaigning in. He only mentioned Kumar Vishwas' rally in Amethi and says that there has been no formal announcement of his candidature. However, Vishwas himself had announced long back that he will be contesting from Amethi and had even invited Modi and Rahul to fight from the same constituency. In fact, that is the reason he was made to lead AAP's Amethi rally. Binny, however, chooses to ignore that development and instead accuse the party of not choosing poll candidates democratically.

He alleged that AAP was a party that could only rustle up drama and could take no solid action.

He then went on to suggest that the Congress and AAP are hand in glove in conning the people of Delhi. Asked where he procured the information from, Binny was only willing to quote 'sources'. "I don't have any proof. Sources told me that they are meeting and taking decisions together. Behind the declarations of transparency a sinister plan was taking shape," he said dramatically.

"When I joined AAP, the party had nothing. What could they have given me. They used my name and my suggestions to win the polls. I have made the party stand on its feet," he claimed, debunking suggestions that he is disgruntled at being left out in the cold.

"Arvind Kejriwal runs the party like an autocrat," he then alleged. "My name had come up in the list of ministers. I went to the Left Governor and told him I don't want to be a minister," Binny said, without caring to explain why he refused to become a minister when the party had included his name in the list.

"I am not after power. I am not quitting the party. But I will protest the malpractices," he said, "I will also back them on the issues that I agree with." From this particular rant at least, the AAP can't count that out!

 

AAP live: Yogendra Yadav responds to Binny’s allegations

10.33 am: Binny calls Ashutosh an opportunist and Kejriwal an autocrat

'Who is an opportunist? Ashutosh is an opportunist," said Binny. He added that Kejriwal's ways of working are autocratic and he doesn't agree with. However, he fails to furnish evidence that Congress and AAP are a team and had a backdoor arrangement before the polls. Asked if he has proof of the same, he said, "I heard this from sources. If I had proof, I would have furnished it already."

He also said that he would not leave the party and would keep protesting like this every time the party strayed from its objectives. "If the party wants me to quit I will still support them in the House on the issues I feel is right. I will oppose them on the issues I don't agree with."

Binny added that AAP has no intention to bring in good governance. "They want to scrape through two months and then channel their energies into the Lok Sabha poll and plunge into the usual dynamics of power," he added.

10.25 am: Why is the party not protesting about women's safety now?

Citing the gang-rape of the Danish tourist, Binny says, "Where are all the protest rallies now? This party should be ashamed. They talk a lot about women's safety and this is what happens after they come to power and they don't even comment on the issue."

He also brought up the Janlokpal issue and questioned why the Janlokpal Bill was not passed yet. "Kejriwal had said the Janlokpal Bill will be passed on 26 January. Where is the preparation for that?"

"They approved the water and electricity policies immediately to appease certain people. But now they are not doing anything," he alleged.

10.17 am: Finally, he talks about the Lok Sabha polls whose ticket he has been denied

"There are several forms of corruption. Taking someone's rights and giving it to someone else, is also a form of corruption," he said, finally making it clear, where his outburst stems from. "Shazia Ilmi, Kumar Vishwas, Gopal Rai are already campaigning in the constituencies they are supposed to fight the Lok Sabha polls from. When then is the party making a show of taking public opinion before choosing its candidates," he says.

Again, he doesn't mention which constituencies Ilmi and Rai are campaigning in. He only mentions Kumar Vishwas' rally in Amethi and says that there has been no formal announcement of his candidature. However, Vishwas himself had announced long back that he will be contesting from Amethi and had even invited Modi and Rahul to fight from the same constituency. In fact, that is the reason he was made to lead AAP's Amethi rally. Binny, however, chooses to ignore that bit of development and instead accuse that the party of not choosing poll candidates democratically.

He alleged that AAP was a party that could only rustle up drama and could take no solid action.

10.13 am: AAP has used me, says Binny

Binny also trashes the allegations of personal ambitions against him. "What did that party have when I joined it? it had nothing. What would they have given him? I gave them my name, my ideas which they used to win the polls in Delhi," he says.

"It hurts me when AAP says that I want to become a cabinet minister. What will I want from them? I have had a political career for 10 years unlike them. What would I want from them?" he said.

10.04 am: Electricity bills have been slashed for selected people Strangely enough, Binny, who presumably was privy to the manifesto when it was made, chose to brought up flaws in the AAP manifesto in this press conference. He said that Kejriwal was promised to slash electricity bills by 50 percent for everyone in Delhi. But after he came to power, he manipulated the clause to benefit a select few. "From what he had said, it was clear that if there was a bill of Rs 1 lakh it will be slashed to Rs 50,000. However, now they have made some changes to benefit a select few," he added, without mentioning what kind of changes that were made to the clause and who all now stand to benefit from the reduced electricity bills.

9.57 am: Vinod Binny criticises 700 litres free water clause Vinod Binny questions the 700 litres free water provision. "Delhi residents were tricked by word play. The manifesto mentioned that 700 litres of water will be given for free. But a clause was added that if someone uses more than 700 litres of water, that person will have to pay for the entire quantity of water. How does that make sense? AAP tricked people," said Binny.

9.45 am:  What is Vinod Binny going to say today? For a two-year-old party tasting immense power for the first time, the AAP has managed to keep its flock together well for the time being. No MLA deflected post the elections even when the party had declared they it would not form the government. However, like any other political organisation fraught with many personal ambitions as collective aspirations, this party too has its share of differences and they have started to show up, a bit too prematurely and way too publicly. MLA Vinod Binny kicked up a storm when he allegedly rebelled at being denied a berth in AAP's cabinet in the past. Both the party and Binny had then come out and told the media that there was no such problem within the party.

Vinod Binny. IBN Live.

But on Wednesday, Binny lashed out at the government in Delhi saying that it has failed to deliver on its promises to the electorate of Delhi. "The government is not fulfilling the promises we made to the people," Binny told ANI today. I feel party is drifting away from the issues on the basis of which the party came to power, he said. "Tomorrow in a press conference I will disclose more details and if need be will sit on a hunger strike", he added. Binny is a former Congress party leader who had quit the party in 2011 and later joined the AAP. He had also won elections twice before as an independent MLA and in 2013 won in the Laxmi Nagar seat. After party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny accused the Aam Aadmi Party of failing to live up to its promises, party leader Arvind Kejriwal hinted that the party MLA's outburst may be linked to being denied a ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections. Binny in turn has called the AAP chief a liar. "First he had come to me seeking a ministerial post, and we rejected the demand." "After that he said 'I will contest the Lok Sabha elections'. He had come to my house to seek a Lok Sabha ticket. The party has decided that no sitting MLA will get a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections," Kejriwal told reporters today. The Delhi Chief Minister added that there was a meeting of all 70 candidates who contested the Delhi polls but the MLA did not raise a single point in the meeting. "I do not know what his intentions are and I do not even want to get into them. We are the most sensitive government towards resolving issues. We welcome criticism, be it from the public, media or BJP," he said.