After Ashutosh, now Khetan too quits AAP

New Delhi: The crisis within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is refusing to die down even as the party has decided to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha polls without any alliance. AAP leader Ashish Khetan on Wednesday announced his resignation from the party, barely a week after another leader, Ashutosh, parted ways with the party.

“Early this year I made my decision to quit active politics after much deliberation and in consultation with family and close friends. However, since both the party and the government were beset with a series of crises, I waited for an opportune time to formalise my decision. I had also informed the party leadership about my decision, on more than one occasion,” Mr Khetan said in a Facebook post.

He said that his “personal decision” to move away from the party and electoral politics should not be viewed as a reflection on the AAP. “I have only received love and respect from the party and its members and volunteers. And I will be forever grateful for that,” he said.

His Facebook post came after a lot of speculation over his move and reports that he had quit the party. Initially, he gave vague replies on Twitter without confirming his decision.

“I had resigned from DDC in April, to join the legal profession. That is all. Not interested in rumours,” Mr Khaitan tweeted earlier, referring to the Delhi Dialogue and Development Comm-ission, an advisory body of the Delhi government. “I am completely focussed on my legal practice and not involved in active politics at the moment. Rest is all extrapolation,” he had said in another tweet.

Party insiders said that both the resignations are yet to be accepted by the party supreme Arvind Kejriwal. The AAP, however, refused to provide any official comment on Mr Khetan’s decision. In the case of Ashutosh, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal did not accept his resignation and sources said that the AAP leadership was trying its best to convince him to stay. In April, Mr Khetan had resigned as the Vice Chairman of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC) to join the Bar and practice commercial law.

“I’ve also taken up legal causes in the larger public interest and will continue to do so. Besides practising law, I’m also keen to return to writing,” he said.

 He sought to quell rumours that his decision was in any way linked to his desire for getting a ticket in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He was a candidate in the 2014 election.

“The party had graciously asked me to contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, but I had politely turned it down. Contesting one more election would have further entrenched me in the world of politics, something I don’t want at this point in time.

“I continue to hold all my ex-party colleagues in high regard and wish them good luck in their future endeavours,” he said.

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