Yadav, Kejri supporters assert themselves in separate meetings

CHANDIGARH: In a show of strength, Arvind Kejriwal and Yogendra Yadav groups on Tuesday held parallel meetings in Chandigarh. While Kejri group's meeting was helmed by national executive member Naveen Jaihind, Yadav was in city to attend the other meeting.
Yadav's convention was seen as an attempt to test the waters in Punjab and Haryana before the 'Swaraj Samwad' convention by Yadav-Prashant Bhushan camp, which is scheduled to be held in Gurgaon on April 14.Meanwhile, around 160 supporters of Kejriwal were arrested when they were moving to Haryana Raj Bhawan to give a memorandum to the governor after holding a meeting at Sector 28.
At least five Lok Sabha candidates of AAP from Punjab and Haryana participated in the convention addressed by rebel leader Yadav. He had also contested as AAP candidate from Gurgaon during the 2014 parliamentary polls. The convention was also attended by Haryana AAP unit convener Ashawant Gupta, state secretary Paramjit Singh and state unit spokesperson Rajiv Godara while from Punjab AAP unit, suspended former spokesperson Professor Manjit Singh and party's 2014 Lok Sabha polls candidate from Jalandhar, Jyoti Mann were present in the meeting. Mann was recently expelled from AAP.
Bhagat Singh's nephew Professor Jagmohan Singh and former CPM MLA from Punjab, Tarsem Singh Jodha, also attended the convention.
After the convention, Yadav did not specify their strategy to be finalized in the April 14 convention even as some of the volunteers suggested formation of a new party. "This (April 14) is a big day... I am sure that we would find a new way to fulfill the dream and principles for which we had joined this party," he added.
"If speaking the truth is revolt, then we are rebels," Yadav maintained. Yadav said he is still in AAP and wants unity in party and wants to keep its soul alive.
Indirectly hitting at Kejrwal, Yadav voted for more autonomy to the party's state units and added that there should not be orders from 'Delhi Durbar'. "Individualism (in politics) is enemy of democracy," he maintained.
On the other hand, Kejriwal's close associate Naveen Jaihind addressed a separate meeting in the city. He had already announced their plan to go to the Raj Bhawan to give a memorandum to Haryana governor. To handles the protesters, heavy police force was deployed near the venue of the meeting.
Taking on the BJP government for recent transfer of IAS officer Ashok Khemka, Jaihind alleged that the saffron party had played politics in the name of such an honest officer. "When the Delhi government can remove VIP culture in governance, what is the problem in getting rid of such a system in Haryana," he asked.
Box: AAP workers detained, released
After conclusion of the meeting at Sector 28 of Chandigarh, AAP volunteers insisted on going to Raj Bhawan to submit a memorandum to Haryana governor Kaptain Singh Solanki regarding bureaucrat Ashok Khemka's transfer. When the police refused to allowed them, after a minor scuffle, the AAP volunteers offered court arrest and subsequently around 160 volunteers were held as a preventive measure. Some hours later, they were released from custody.