Syed Geelani, Masarat Alam joining forces against India, exposes PDP-BJP in ... - Firstpost

It is rare for people in India and Pakistan to listen to the same person speak on radio. But Syed Ali Shah Geelani's appeal transcends the India-Pakistan border.

On Wednesday, the separatist leader, who leads a conglomeration of several pro-Pakistan groups in Kashmir, emerged from his winter home in Delhi and immediately raised the temperature in the Valley.

Scenes from the rally yesterday: PTI

At a rally to greet him in Srinagar, where he arrived after hibernating in Delhi on the advice of his doctor, participants raised anti-India slogans, waved Pakistani flags, reminded Narendra Modi that his hands are 'soaked with the blood of Muslims' and issued stern warnings to chief minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed against strengthening the 'status quo.'

This was a scene that could have taken place anywhere in Pakistan.

The rally was broadcast live in Muzzafarabad, capital of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir for the benefit of Geelani's intended audience. Listeners cheered and applauded as he spoke of Azaadi.

Standing next to Geelani was the man on whom Mufti had bet on heavily to mend relations with separatists: Masarat Alam, Geelani's rumoured heir and the man who was released from jail recently.

But instead of reciprocating Mufti's gesture, he was busy rousing the crowd against his government and its partners in Delhi and egging on the 'enthusiastic youngsters' who were all praising Pakistan.

Irony may have died a thousand deaths on radio and in Srinagar.

When nearly 70 percent of voters came out to participate in the recent assembly elections in J& K, it was assumed to be a mandate for peace, a stamp of approval on the Indian democratic traditions.

Instead, we are hearing pro-Pak slogans.

When Narendra Modi and his nationalist party allied with Mufti to form the government, it was assumed that the Valley would turn saffron. Instead, separatists like Masarat must be feeling proud seeing how green his Valley is today.

The tone of Geelani's speech, and the zest of his supporters, suggest that the tricolor is under a cloud, and the crescent and star is rising again.

"Before resolving the Kashmir issue and taking everyone on board including separatists and Pakistan, Mufti should make his views public about whether he accepts that Kashmir is under Indian occupation and whether people should be given the right to self-determination or not," Geelani said.

"Mufti recently termed J&K as the crown of India but he must know that Indian forces have killed six lakh people and grabbed the J&K territory by using its military might. Mufti wants status quo but we reject it and make it to clear to him that people of J&K want complete independence," he added.

Is this what Mufti had hoped to hear when he rolled out his 'politics of sentiments' in the Valley? After all, he has gone out of his way over the past few weeks to mollycoddle separatists and humour Pakistan.

Soon after being sworn-in, he thanked Pakistan, Hurriyat and hardliners for allowing free and fair elections in the state. A few days later, he decided to free Alam. And, somewhere in between, he demanded that the remains of Afzal Guru be handed back to the family.

Obviously, Mufti is not getting it right.

Already, people in the Valley are arguing that the PDP-BJP alliance will not lead to any dramatic solution of the Kashmir problem. And that Mufti's gestures are futile.

A Geelani supporter waves a Pakistan flag at the rally: PTI

In an acerbic criticism of the alliance, Dr Syed M Inayatullah Andrabi recently argued in local daily Kashmir Reader that "Kashmir politics has only two opposite poles, one camp regards accession to India as final, the other resisting it and holding that people of J&K are yet to decide their political future through a free and fair plebiscite. PDP and BJP subscribe to the former and as such are on the same side. As regards other ideological areas, for example, those relating to social, economic, and foreign policy issues they can have differences but that is irrelevant here."

Obviously, Kashmiris are not impressed by Mufti's strategy. Even terrorists and their supporters in Pakistan are not willing to give him a chance. Kashmir is once again back to where it all began: Demands for azaadi, talk of plebiscite and anti-Indian rhetoric.

"People of this country have blessed us like Lord Shiva and given us very big responsibility. BJP will never compromise on national interest, merely to remain in power in J&K," BJP chief Amit Shah had said, addressing BJP workers in his assembly constituency Naranpura in March.

"The government (in J&K) has been formed only to solve Kashmir issue and I have full trust that we will find a solution to this issue," he had further promised.

If only Shah had tuned in to Geelani radio on Wednesday, he would have realised that his promise of a solution is turning out to be just another jumla.

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Mulayam Singh Yadav declared leader of the nameless party - Daily News & Analysis

Combined strength of the new entity could give a tough time to the BJP in Rajya Sabha to get through several of its legislations

The six constituents of Janata Parivar declared their official merger on Thursday by naming Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav as the chairman of the new nameless entity.

Declaring the merger as official, veteran JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav said, "All six constituents of Janata Parivar –SP, JDU, JDS, INLD, RJD and SJP have unanimously chosen Mulayam Singh Yadav as the leader of the new party. He will also be the head of the parliamentary board."

Taking a dig at the Modi government, Mulayam Singh said, "This is first government which never consulted opposition. Communal forces have become really haughty and that is the reason why we have united. We will not only defeat them in coming elections in Bihar but also in other states."

The meeting also constituted seven member parliamentary board under Mulayam Singh - HD Deve Gowda, Ramgopal Yadav, OP Chautala, Lalu Yadav, Sharad Yadav and Kamal Morarka to decide on new party's name, symbol and basic aims and objectives.

The occasion was marred during initial minutes by slogan shouting activists of the Sangh Parivar who landed at the venue, Mualyam Singh Yadav's house, where no cadre of the Janata Parivar was present.

Their appearance was indicative of BJP getting restive because of the merger, which is banking on its Lok Sabha performance reflecting in the forthcoming Bihar assembly elections.

The constituents of Janata Parivar and the Congress together had captured a vote-share of nearly 45 per cent while the BJP got 37 per cent. The split in the Opposition votes had given an advantage to the BJP, which swept the state.

However, on the face of it, the BJP was dismissive of the merger saying it concerned only "parivar (families)" and not "Janata (people)". Dubbing it as an idea that will fail, the BJP dubbed it as anti-poor and anti-dalit.

"They have misled the poor and the farmers. They are anti-dalit because they are opposing the land bill which will ensure employment to them," BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said.

The combined strength of the new entity in the Rajya Sabha could give a tough time to the BJP to get through several of its legislations, including the land bill. In Rajya Sabha, SP leads the pack with 15 members while JD-U has 12 and INLD, JD(S) and RJD one MP each. Their total number in the Upper House is 30. While, in Lok Sabha SP has five members followed by RJD with four MPs while JD-U, JD(S) and INLD each has two members, giving the grouping a total of 15 members in the Lower House.

In Parliament, Mulayam could be the leader of the new group in Lok Sabha while Sharad Yadav could be named its leader in Rajya Sabha. Curiously, leading face of the SP, Ramgopal Yadav was absent at the meeting and the leaders present did not take any questions from the media that was eager to know the reason of his absence.

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Statues vandalised in Agra church, dog chain wrapped around Mother Mary idol - Hindustan Times

Unidentified people on Friday damaged four statues of Mother Mary and wrapped a dog chain around one of them in an early morning vandalism at a church in Agra, the latest attack on minority-run institutions in the country.
 
The incident comes barely weeks after a 71-year-old nun was raped in a West Bengal convent, a case that shook the nation and triggered widespread protests.
 
Police said the vandals dislodged and damaged four statues of Mother Mary while putting a dog chain on one of them at the St Mary Church, located in the Pratabpura area in the city of the Taj Mahal.
 
"The intruders intended to hurt our religious sentiments as they placed the head of child Jesus Christ in the hand of Mother Mary and attached a dog chain to the neck," said Father Moon Lazarus, the head priest of the church.

Vandals dislodged and damaged four statues of Mother Mary outside the St Mary Church, located in the Pratabpura area in Agra. (HT Photo)
 
The persons also broke window panes of a car parked inside the church premises.
 
The incident occurred at around 3.30 am, according to a complaint lodged with police by Father Lazarus.
 
The priest said the he was awakened by the car's alarm going off after it was damaged but the intruders managed to escape after jumping over the perimeter wall.
 
Church officials said members of the Christian community will hold a protest march later in the day.
 
Senior police officials including the senior superintendent of police Rajesh D Modak visited the church premises and assured action against the culprits.
 
"It seems to be handwork of someone with sick mentality… the culprits would be brought to book soon," said Aseem Chaudhary, the Agra sadar circle officer.

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RBI governor Raghuram Rajan gets threat mail from 'ISIS', security beefed up - Zee News

Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan has received an e-mail threatening to eliminate him.

As per reports, Rajan had received the mail earlier this month from the ID isis583847@gmail.com. As the ID bears the name of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Mumbai Police is not taking it lightly.

Maharashtra's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) KP Bakshi, meanwhile, said that the security detail of Rajan has been tightened. 

DNA newspaper, a part of Zee Media, has accessed some parts of the mail: "I have been given money by somebody to eliminate you. If you will pay me more than I have been paid, then we can decide on it," the mail said.

Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria confirmed the development. "We have received a complaint that a threat e-mail was sent to the RBI governor. The email also contained the name of ISIS. We are not taking this lightly and all efforts are being made to trace the culprits," Maria told DNA.

As per the report, the Mumbai Police has approached the US-based Google Inc and sought details about the ID.

The report further added that the e-mail ID was accessed from outside India. What has added to the mystery was the discovery that the mail ID was being accessed from 10 different countries, including Australia, Italy, US, Canada, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Germany, Hong Kong and Ukraine.

Police suspect that a proxy Internet Protocol address was used to sent the e-mail.

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PM Narendra Modi's strategy: Bashing of domestic opponents on foreign soil - Hindustan Times

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not given to subtleties, especially when taking on his political rivals. But he has now taken his battles to foreign shores, raking up scams and corruption of the previous UPA regime in meetings during official trips abroad, in what is seen as a new trend in Indian politics. And most of these Congress-bashing have come while addressing the diaspora, which have given him rock star status where Modi has gone.

A look at Modi's tirades:

Toronto

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister vowed to clean up the "mess" created by others and change the country's image from the one of "scams" to that of a skilled nation.

There was no doubt who Modi was referring to as others during a gathering of Indian community which was also attended Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper.

"Jinko gandagi karni thi, woh gandagi kar ke chaley gaye, par hum safai karenge (Those who had to create a mess, they have done so and left. We will clean it up)," Modi said, without elaborating.

Mod added the march of development has already started over the last 10 months – since the BJP-led government came to power at the Centre -- in a "transparent and corruption-free" environment.

The Prime Minister said while earlier two km length of road was being built per day, now 11 km in constructed in a day.

Paris

Just a few days ago in Paris, during an interaction with the Indian community, Modi had targeted the Congress-led UPA government over the coal scam.

He said that while coal block earlier allocation had raised questions even against the then PM, the same process now fetched over Rs 2 lakh crore from 20 of them. He also pointed out that earlier coal blocks were allegedly distributed in an arbitrary manner due to which the Supreme Court cancelled the allotments.

New York

In his earlier tour of the US in September last year, the Prime Minister had taken a swipe at the Congress-led UPA, saying the earlier governments would keep harping on the number of laws they has come out with, but he has made it his mission to get rid of the "maze of useless" legislations.

"Earlier governments would keep harping that we have made this 'kanoon' (law) and that 'kanoon'... I have started a new one -- the old 'kanoon', I have thrown away the 'bekaar' (useless) ones."

"It was like a 'jaal' (maze) of 'kanoon', if one gets in, then they can't get out. I have set up a committee to examine them. If every day, I can end one law, then it will be an achievement," he said.

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Rahul Gandhi returns to Delhi from Bangkok - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday returned to Delhi from his almost two-month long "unexplained" sabbatical, which had raised questions over his leadership of the party that is struggling to find its feet after a string of electoral defeats.

The 44-year-old leader arrived here at 11.15am on a Thai Airways plane from Bangkok, ending days of intense speculation over his return and amidst celebrations by party workers who burst crackers outside his residence.

Wearing a dark shirt and seated in the back seat of his vehicle, he arrived escorted by his security personnel and drove straight into the house without interacting with the waiting mediapersons.

The return of Rahul comes ahead of the party's planned farmers' rally here on the contentious land bill issue which he is likely to address.

The plane, which was scheduled to land at 10.35am, was delayed by 40 minutes, sources said. Shortly later, Rahul drove to his 12, Tughlaq Lane residence where his mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka were waiting.

Rahul had left quietly before the Budget session began on February 23 but it is still not known where he had spent the days.

The party had then said that he "requested Congress president Sonia Gandhi for some time to reflect on recent events and future course of the party".

Ever since the announcement of his temporary break from political life, there has been speculation that he was unhappy with not getting a free hand to run the party, a contention which the party has officially denied.

Rahul's leave had come amid talk of an AICC session, where he was expected to be elevated as Congress president.

During his absence, several party leaders including former chief ministers Amarinder Singh and Sheila Dikshit came out in the open pitching for Sonia Gandhi to continue as president and raised questions over his leadership.

READ ALSO: Sonia vs Rahul debate rattles Congress

Sheila Dikshit voices reservations over Rahul Gandhi

Congress leaders had announced that Rahul would be back by April 19 as he would be addressing a farmers' rally on land bill issue at the Ramlila maidan here on that day.

The rally is being held on the eve of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament. Rahul had skipped the first phase which saw the Congress taking on the government over the land bill issue.

Party leaders voiced confidence that Rahul will provide leadership with dynamism and commitment and take pro-active measures.

"He is back and I have no doubt that he will be not only taking proactive measures but also with dynamism, with commitment provide leadership," Congress leader Anand Sharma said, adding that farmers' issue has been close to Rahul's heart.

There are no 'item numbers' in politics: BJP

The BJP, meanwhile, took potshots at the Congress vice-president, saying he "ran away" as he had lost all confidence.

"From Nehru to Rahul, it is the withering away of the dynasty," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

"The Congress Party is saying that Mr Rahul Gandhi will conduct a successful kisan rally, to which we would say there is no item number in Indian politics or politics as such. You can't just reappear, attend a rally and then vanish again. You have to be serious," Sambit Patra said.

He added that Rahul's return from his sabbatical had hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

"This is for the first time in Indian politics that an important member of a political party was absconding for such a long period of time and his return has become news," said Patra.

(With inputs from agencies)

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India builds its first smart city as urban population swells - Zee News

Pic Courtesy: -

Gandhinagar: India`s push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of "smart" cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati river in Gujarat.

So far, it boasts modern underground infrastructure, two office blocks and not much else. 

The plan, however, is for a meticulously planned metropolis complete with gleaming towers, drinking water on tap, automated waste collection and a dedicated power supply - luxuries to many Indians.

With an urban population set to rise by more than 400 million people to 814 million by 2050, India faces the kind of mass urbanisation only seen before in China, and many of its biggest cities are already bursting at the seams.

Ahead of his election last May, Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised 100 so-called smart cities by 2022 to help meet the rush.

At a cost of about $1 trillion, according to estimates from consultants KPMG, the plan is also crucial to Modi`s ambition of attracting investment while providing jobs for the million or more Indians who join the workforce every month.

His grand scheme, still a nebulous concept involving quality communications and infrastructure, is beginning to take shape outside Gandhinagar, capital of Gujarat, with the first "smart" city the government hopes will provide a model for India`s urban future.

"Most (Indian) cities have not been planned in an integrated way," said Jagan Shah, director of the National Institute of Urban Affairs which is helping the government set guidelines for the new developments.

Among the challenges to getting new cities built or existing cities transformed is the lack of experts who can make such huge projects work and attracting private finance.

"To get the private sector in, there is a lot of risk mitigation that needs to happen because nobody wants a risky proposition," he told Reuters, stressing the need for detailed planning.

To build smart cities, India allocated 60 billion rupees ($962 million) in its annual federal budget for the financial year starting April 1, even as it spent just a fraction of last year`s allocation of 70.6 billion rupees, said Shah.

Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), as the smart city is called, will double up as a financial hub, with tax and other breaks to lure banks, brokerages and other businesses.

Developed in partnership with IL&FS Engineering and Construction , it aims to compete with India`s own financial capital of Mumbai as well as overseas rivals like Dubai and Singapore.

Pressure on India`s existing urban centres is already intense, with cities like Mumbai gridlocked by traffic and hampered by poor infrastructure and a lack of amenities like parks and effective public transport.

Yet some experts believe that building new cities may not be the answer to India`s swelling urban population.

"To address India`s urbanisation challenge we have to start looking at our existing cities," said Shirish Sankhe, director at consultant McKinsey and Company, India.

He added that new cities would be only a small part of the solution relative to brownfield projects.

India has built planned cities in the past, including Chandigarh, designed by French architect Le Corbusier, and Gandhinagar itself. But the scale of its current push is unprecedented.

A bird`s eye view from atop one of the two office buildings on the 886-acre GIFT site, a venture which began when Modi was chief minister of Gujarat, shows little sign yet of the 9 billion rupees spent on the first phase.

But the sandy plain hides infrastructure including an underground tunnel for utilities, a first in India.

The government has yet to decide what exactly will make a city "smart", but the programme is expected to include building new centres as well as adapting existing ones.

A detailed definition with guidelines is due soon, said the National Institute of Urban Affairs` Shah.

Existing cities like Dholera and Surat in Gujarat, and Visakhapatnam in the east, have already begun work to transform into smart cities with help from companies such as Microsoft Corp , IBM Corp and Cisco Systems .

Beyond GIFT, greenfield projects are likely to face hurdles including land acquisition rights and lengthy approval processes, as well as finding the right location.

GIFT has the advantage of being flanked by a river on one side and a national highway on the other, and also sits between Gujarat`s political capital of Gandhinagar and its business hub of Ahmedabad, with a large international airport.

The key, experts say, is time.

"Physical masterplanning takes time. Complexity is built into this. And my sense is it is probably going to take longer than what most people think," said McKinsey`s Sankhe.

Reuters

First Published: Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 08:20

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Shiv Sena wants mandatory family planning for Muslims, Christians - Daily News & Analysis

"By only increasing the population, one can try and convert the country into Pakistan, but cannot give quality and healthy life to one's family," the BJP ally in Maharashtra said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

After stoking controversy with its demand that Muslims be stripped of their voting rights, Shiv Sena on Wednesday advocated compulsory family planning for Muslims and Christians to check their "rising" population.

"By only increasing the population, one can try and convert the country into Pakistan, but cannot give quality and healthy life to one's family," the BJP ally in Maharashtra said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.

Sena backed the views of vice president of All India Hindu Mahasabha Sadhvi Deva Thakur on the issue though it did say that her choice of words may have been wrong.

"Sadhvi Deva says that the increasing population of Muslims and Christians is dangerous for the country and they should be, therefore, forcibly sterilised. She should have used the word family planning instead sterilisation," it said Thakur had on Saturday said Muslims and Christians must undergo sterilisation to restrict their growing population which was posing a threat to Hindus.

"The population of Muslims and Christians is growing day by day. To rein in this, Centre will have to impose emergency, and Muslims and Christians will have to be forced to undergo sterilisation so that they can't increase their numbers," Sadhvi had said.

Sena today said, "Sadhvi is not as educated as the Owaisi brothers (of AIMIM), thus may have chosen wrong words to convey her message. One can ignore her sterilisation words, but the fact is, their (Muslim, Christian) population and family planning remains a problem."

Sena said if All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi is truly concerned about the community, he should support the call for family planning and the cease of burqa-wearing tradition for Muslim women.

"Family planning will ensure that one can look after his family properly and provide quality education to children," it said.

The saffron party said by advocating sterilisation of Muslims, it wants 'quality living' for them.

"When we say Muslims should undergo sterilisation, our intention is that they should live happily," Sena said.

Sena had earlier courted controversy by demanding scrapping of voting rights of Muslims, saying the community has often been used for vote bank politics, evoking sharp reactions from several political parties which accused it of trying to inflame passions and divide people.

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2G scam: Raja misled former PM Singh on policy matters, says CBI - Zee News

Pic Courtesy: -

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In its final arguments in the 2G spectrum allocation case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday told the Special Court that ex-telecom minister A Raja had misled then PM Manmohan Singh on policy matters pertaining to 2G spectrum allocation.

The CBI also said 2G spectrum was granted to ineligible companies such as Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd and Unitech Wireless.

The investigating agency also alleged that A Raja had deliberately advanced the cut off date to favour accused firms in 2G allocation.

Former Telecom Minister A. Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi and others, including top corporate executives, are facing trial in the case. In its charge sheet, CBI had alleged that there was a loss of around Rs 31,000 crore to the exchequer in the allocation of 122 licences for 2G spectrum.

CBI had alleged that there was a loss of Rs 30,984 crore to the exchequer in allocation of 122 licences for 2G spectrum which were scrapped by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2012.

The court has recorded statements of 154 CBI witnesses, including Reliance ADAG Chairman Anil Ambani, his wife Tina Ambani and former corporate lobbyist Niira Radia, running into over 4,400 pages in the case.

Besides Raja and Kanimozhi, former Telecom Secretary Siddharth Behura, Raja's erstwhile private secretary R K Chandolia, Swan Telecom promoters Shahid Usman Balwa and Vinod Goenka, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra, three top executives of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG) -- Gautam Doshi, Surendra Pipara and Hari Nair -- are facing trial in the case.

Directors of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd Asif Balwa and Rajiv Agarwal, Kalaignar TV Director Sharad Kumar and Bollywood producer Karim Morani are also accused in the case.

Besides these 14 accused persons, three telecom firms -- Swan Telecom Pvt Ltd (STPL), Reliance Telecom Ltd and Unitech Wireless (Tamil Nadu) Ltd -- are also facing trial in the case.

The court had on October 22, 2011, framed charges against them under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act dealing with offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating,forgery, faking documents, abusing official position, criminal misconduct by public servant and taking bribe.

The offences entail punishment ranging from six months in jail to life imprisonment.

The court had earlier said that out of 17, seven accused had not wished to lead evidence in their defence.

It had said Vinod Goenka, Swan Telecom (P) Limited (now Etisalat DB Telecom (P) Limited), Gautam Doshi, Reliance Telecom Ltd and Kanimozhi had mentioned in their statement under section 313 CrPC itself that they do not wish to lead defence evidence.

Later on, co-accused Balwa and Morani, who had earlier desired to lead defence evidence, did not examine any witness and their statements were recorded accordingly, the court had observed.

The court is also trying separate cases arising out of the probe into the 2G scam which allegedly involves promoters of Essar Group, Loop Telecom and others, Aircel-Maxis deal case and Enforcement Directorate's money laundering case.

With Agency Inputs

First Published: Wednesday, April 15, 2015, 11:35

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Ashutosh calls AAP rebels' meet a 'flop'; Yadav takes pride in... - Hindustan Times

The Arvind Kejriwal-faction of Aam Aadmi Party, AAP, is likely to decide the action to be taken against dissidents, including Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, for holding a rebel meet and criticising Arvind Kejriwal's "cult politics".

The duo on Tuesday mobilised hundreds of people and held an open dialogue called Swaraj Samwad. Though the two stopped short of forming a new political outfit, they lashed out against Arvind Kejriwal's "cult politics" and vowed to continue their "struggle for swaraj" without leaving the organisation.

This was the first meeting since Yadav and Bhushan were expelled from the party's Political Affairs Committee and National Executive last month.

Reacting to the meeting, senior AAP leader Ashutosh told HT on Tuesday that the two rebels have not been able to reconcile with the fact that they are out of AAP's key panels and the party may decide its of action on Wednesdy.

"Frankly, the party took this Swaraj Samwad quite seriously. We constantly monitored the proceedings. They want to create circumstances that would lead to a split in the party. They spoke openly against Arvind [Kejriwal] and the whole leadership. Obviously it has not gone down well with us. We may sit tomorrow (Wednesday) and take a call on what to do."

Calling the Swaraj Samwad a flop, Ashutosh said the party stands with party convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Ashutosh said, "Looks like it was a flop. AAP was confident from day one. Only a couple of AAP leaders were seen at the much-hyped meeting. If they thought they would be able to create a split in our MLAs, senior leaders, they were wrong. A lot of people seemed to have been brought in from nearby areas. Yadav and Bhushan have not been able to digest the National Council verdict last month where 247 members voted against them as opposed to only 8 in their favour. It was a reflection of the party mood across states. The party today stands firmly with Arvind."

The decision not to walk out of the AAP emerged after an eight-hour-long meeting of supporters from various states, a resolution was passed to set up the new group -- Swaraj Abhiyan-- which will try to establish the concept of "swaraj" and work for strengthening "alternative politics."

Speaking to HT, Yogendra Yadav said they opted to remain within the party to "cleanse it".

"The meeting has highlighted that we were not the only ones who were dissatisfied with the working of the party. The large turnout signifies that people believe that all hope is not lost. We would organise similar events throughout the country."

When asked what he thought of being called a rebel and anti-social, Yadav said, "I like the word 'rebel'. It has been used for some of the most distinguished freedom fighters. But it still carries the hint of negativity. I would focus all my energies on building something positive than trying to oppose anyone. I have drawn a line on criticism."

Swaraj Abhiyan not anti-party: AAP rebel Yogendra Yadav

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