At a time when the party stands sharply divided between Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on one hand and Bhushan and Yadav on the other, Marlena's letter suggests that the leadership was close to arriving at a consensus but for Bhushan who backed out, not on the grounds of principle but because his father, Shanti Bhushan, said 'no'.
Read the full text of Marlena's letter here:
Dear All,
Regrettably, this letter will mark a change in our political engagement. It is being written to express strong disagreement with two people whom I hold in extremely high regard.
I don't think I have adequate words to express my respect and affection for Prashant ji - the man who can single-handedly challenge the might of the corporate-political nexus when in court, and also insist on giving you one of the two toasts on his plate during an early morning cup of tea when at home. Yogendra ji's clarity of thought and analysis of political processes have taught me a lot. Please do excuse me if what I am about to say seems harsh. But after our long journey, I believe it is important for me to tell you where I stand as we all chart our way forward.
I am cc-ing Prithvi, Vijay, Alok Bhai and Admiral Ramdas, as they have been a part of a larger process of dialogue with all of you, and with others; and have shared the heart-ache of all that has happened. I would want them to know what I have to say.
It has been a difficult journey for all of us. As an organisation, AAP has gone through its most difficult phase from May 2014 onwards. We were at a point where there were existential concerns about AAP, whether we would even survive as a political force, and today much of the credit for our survival and success should rightly go to Arvind. After the Lok Sabha elections, there were differences of opinion and approach. The tragedy of our party has been that those differences transformed into an individualised battle, which was marked by a complete breakdown of communication, reading too much between the lines, suspicion and mistrust.
Those of us who tried to remain neutral and tried to bridge this constantly growing divide found ourselves under the cloud of suspicion from all sides. I myself was accused by Prashant ji of having "lost my moral compass," by Shanti Bhushan ji of being "ready to give up my credibility for the attention and fame received from television appearances," by Yogendra ji of "being ready to change my opinion based on one phone call from Arvind" and by those close to Arvind of "being in the PB-YY camp and installing their people in key positions in Mission Vistaar." Yet, so many of us - including Prithvi, Vijay, Alok Bhai and even the Admiral - were ready to bear this emotional strain and take it in stride, because this was never about us.
I cannot but agree that there are short-comings in the organisational structure and processes of our party. And I cannot but agree that we need to be extremely vigilant to ensure that we don't fall in our ethical standards. As I have repeatedly said to Prashant ji, that his questions and concerns were always valid ones. What I did strongly disagree with was the style of bringing the organisation to the point of crisis, for the addressal of these questions. These issues needed to be addressed within the party, even if the pace was slow.
Yes, I was disappointed by the party's unwillingness to meaningfully dialogue on these issues, after the Delhi victory. But I was equally disappointed with Prashant ji's seeming keenness to immediately precipitate an organisational confrontation on these issues. In the last resort, the struggle for inner party democracy cannot supersede the struggle against communalism and crony capitalism. I believe it was an unforgivable mistake to take the fight for inner party democracy to its final confrontation.
On 22nd March, when Prithvi and Alok Bhai came to Delhi and their attempt at reaching an agreement failed, many of us on the side-lines feared that a bitter confrontation was inevitable and our movement would sustain irreparable damage. But all that changed; it changed when unknown to the public and our volunteers, Sanjay Singh made a remarkable effort, leaving no stone unturned for everyone to come to an agreement. He even offered to resign from the NE himself, along with the two of you. Amazingly, by the 26th, Sanjay Bhai had succeeded in bringing a consensus that promised a collective apology from the leadership of the party, time bound institutional changes under Prithvi's leadership and 6 new, neutral and credible members in the National Executive.
These were major steps forward. These steps would have paved the way forward for the very changed you talked about in the party. There could not have been a more credible and principled person than Prithvi to carry these changes forward. Yes, this would have meant the resignation of the two of you from the NE - but this was not about you.
When I found out the final reason for the refusal of this agreement by your side, I was appalled. Prashant ji - you refused to accept these terms because Shanti Bhushan ji said 'no'! The same Prashant Bhushan who can take on the strongest forces in this country, did not agree to something in the larger interests of the party, because his father said 'No'; because Shanti Bhushan ji said that he would leave the family home. Pardon a possible exaggeration, but I believe that this decision will go down in history as one of the gravest mistakes of our times.
Further, when Sanjay Bhai's consensus building broke down because of Prashant ji's actions, all of you repeatedly said in public that talks broke down on a matter of principle, that the other side was not serious about the negotiations. So when you presented a one-sided picture in the public domain and did not share this truth, people were misled to believe that the party was not ready to work on any of these issues. This is just wrong.
Today, AAP's image as a force for good lies in tatters barely a month after a spectacular triumph against impossible odds. We are being dismissed as just another party. And while we have made numerous mistakes - big and small - the events of 26th March showed that we are different. AAP supporters across the world will now not know of the extraordinary leadership of Sanjay Bhai and Prithvi who succeeded in building a consensus against an atmosphere where fatigue and emotion often got the better of reason.
The outcome of Sanjay Bhai's and Prithvi's efforts would have shown the public and our volunteers that this is still different party and a different movement, and that this movement still stands as a beacon of hope for millions across the country; that despite such deep differences and heightened conflict it was possible for the organization to move forward in a positive direction. Yes, some seriously wrong things have happened thereafter - such as the removal of Admiral Ramdas as Lokpal or the manner in which the national council meeting was conducted. There is no question that we need to be extremely careful that we don't go down the road of other political parties.
Yet I believe this could have been avoided because Sanjay Bhai's and Prithvi's action would have begun to cool the emotionally charged internal atmosphere that had been prevailing for so many months. This is not to be, at least for now, though I want to hope that it will happen soon. However, since both of you were not ready to accept the possible compromise within the institutional framework of the party, the tragedy is that any steps that you now take will effectively weaken the fight against the forces of corruption and cronyism. Every further escalation of these issues in the public domain by you, will lead to a response from the party and the conflict will keep growing and get uglier.
One of the reasons I joined AAP was because at the time Prashant ji's presence assured me that AAP will stay the course in the fight against crony capitalism and communalism. Today, I believe AAP is still that force and now Prashant ji may not be a part of this force, but standing against it.
I will continue to hold both of you in the highest regard, but I do not believe that our paths can be common any more. I do hope that they do not diverge to a degree that we may have to stand confronting each other.
Regards Atishi
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AAP leader Atishi Marlena's letter to Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav
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