New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party leader Shazia Ilmi quit the party on Saturday and blamed it on lack of democracy within the party. "There is no internal democracy in the party. AAP did not follow swaraj in the party itself. There is no collective decision making in the party," she said.
Here is the full text of her letter:
After much thought and deliberation I have decided to give up my membership of the Aam Aadm Party (AAP) and resign from all positions within the party.
This is a difficult decision for me and I continue to believe that AAP could have done a lot to change the political discourse for the better in the country. A lot of the mistakes that the party has made can be excused by the fact that it is a new party committed to a corruption-free India.
But my decision to leave the party is triggered by the lack of inner-party Democracy, specially from a party that constantly talks of Swaraj.
I deny whisper campaigns that my resignation has to do with being fielded from Ghaziabad- I wouldn't
have valiantly fought from a seat I didn't personally opt for.
Cronyism: We fight against cronyism but we have a crony clique who runs the party and take impulsive decisions which we learn about later. I find it amazing that we cannot follow the principles of Swaraj within our own party When a brilliant person like Arvind, who espoused the concept of Swaraj, of collective decision making is unable to follow it personally within the party, then doesn't it become incumbent to point out the same?
The perpetuation of sensationalism: Granted it may have helped us make our point initially but continue to use it as a norm defeats the exercise of trust reposed in us by the public
Are naming some corporate houses and politicians continuously enough? The country has gone through
trauma. We played a great role in galvanizing public opinion. Even converting it into political party. But when we became a political party, it needed to evolve and not just assume the garb of
agitation.
I would rather now agitate against this for the sake of the party.
Arvind has shot the messenger. For the last 4 years I fought like an obedient soldier for the movement and later the party for political transformation in India. However, now I have been systematically marginalised because I offer a voice of dissent and constructive criticism.
I still have the greatest respect for Arvind and the selfless volunteers who are the backbone of the party.
One strongly believes that instead of wasting our collective energy in this bail-jail imbroglio Arvind should actually be spending time with cadres, candidates, volunteers, critics et al. I felt it incumbent to communicate to you all.
The failure of AAP would be the failure of the one most significant experiments in Indian democracy. I hope my leaving the party would usher in the new era of openness, introspection and transparency within the decision making processes.
I will continue my fight against corruption, crime against women and social inequity in the realm of public service.
My best wishes are with AAP and all its endeavours,
JAI HIND
Shazia Ilmi
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