AAP Member Milan Gupta’s complaint to Election Commission regarding National Council meet

To,

Election Commission of India,

Nirvachan Sadan,

New Delhi -110001

Dear Sir,

This is with reference to Aam Aadmi Party’s(AAP) press release dated 28 March 2015 made available by the party’s secretariat to the media,the party members, the general public (and the Election Commision of India) through the party’s official website link http://www.aamaadmiparty.org/aam-aadmi-party-press-release-28th-march-2015 

Vide the aforesaid press release it has been informed that the National Council of AAP met on 28th March 2015 in which certain decisions and resolutions were taken. A copy of the press release is attached for your convenience, as Annexure 1  (You may cross verify the contents of the attachment with the aforesaid internet link too if you like.)In case, Aam Aadmi Party’s secretariat has sent a written communication to Election Commission of India(ECI) with respect to the purported National Council meeting of 28 March 2015, kindly consider this email with reference to such a communication also. (Kindly request you to upload such a written communication on ECI’s website also, in that case).

I am a member of Aam Aadmi Party. Attached with this email in Annexure 2 is my profile summary(with my earlier residential address) that was displayed on Aam Aadmi party’s official website.

I bring to your attention that the purported National Council meeting of AAP on 28 March 2015, as informed vide the aforementioned press release, was wholly ultra-vires the constitution of AAP on records of the ECI. The irrefutable evidence of its illegality has been furnished by the party’s secretariat itself.

The party’s secretariat has claimed vide the aforementioned press release in para 2(a) that out of a total of 392 members of the National Council, 311 attended the meet. I shall demonstrate here that total strength of National Council members is not more than 300, and the figure of 392 members is therefore wholly false, misleading and contemptuous of basic respect of rules and laws.

Article IV- F of AAP constitution registered with ECI governs the composition of the National Council. As per the article, the National Council consists of convenors from all the states and the districts. In addition , it can co-opt upto a maximum of 50 members. It is not a matter of dispute, so far, that the no member has been co-opted into the National Council till date(In case, it is claimed so by the party’ secretariat, even that will not explain the super high figure of 392 members in the National Council).

AAP;s constitution, like all the democratic parties’ constitution, has clearly written throughout that the convenors at all levels are elected, and not appointed. The Active Members with voting rights as defined in AAP constitution are the foundation of the party who make AAP a bottom-up elected organisation. 

Article IV-D-c(i) and (vi)  specify that the District Convenor shall be elected by District executive, which in turn shall be elected by Active members in that district.

Similarly,  article IV-E-c(i) and (vi) state that the State convenor shall be elected by State executive, which in turn shall be elected by Active members in that state.

Article III-C-vi mentions that the list of Active members shall be frozen one month before the call for any party elections.

However, there are no active members list or any such party elections held anywhere in the party through Active members(except, in National Council members’ first meeting on 24 Nov 2012). The evidence of this has been provided by the party’s secretariat itself in the edited video recording of the purported National Council meeting of 28 March 2015.

Pls refer to the video in this link ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efn4QWGk7fA )made public through AAP’s official twitter web page ( https://twitter.com/aamaadmiparty/status/582050559978442752 ).

You may prefer to focus on the contents in that video for duration between 34 minutes 5 seconds to 37 minutes 50 seconds in it.

In the video, the National Convenor of AAP, while commenting and admitting on flaws in the internal organisational setup( between 34 minutes 30 seconds and 34 minutes 40 seconds) states as follows “… अभी Active members की list है नहीं .. आपको भी पता है .. हमने कहा committees बनायीं जाएँगी , हर राज्य में committee बनायेंगे , active members की list बनायेंगे, public कर देंगे..”

Further, the National Convenor admits while specifically taking the example of organisation set up in a particular state  that voting withing party is in fact missing in the entire country, not just that particular state. The National Convenor says ( between 37 minutes 24 seconds and 37 minutes 44 seconds)

“..  एक साल में कितनी voting करायी हरियाणा में ? यहाँ पर हरियाणा के साथी भी होंगे ..हाँ भाई कितनी वोटिंग करायी ?…एक वोटिंग हुई हो पूरे.. कुछ लागू तो कर के दिखाओ ..कुछ कर के तो दिखाओ ..हरियाणा में लागू कर दो हम पूरे देश में लागू कर देंगे ..)

The above statements of the National Convenor ,released officially by the party’s secretariat too, are a self-providing evidence that active members list is not available, active members have not been identified, and there have been no internal party elections through out the country.

Therefore, no district convenors or state convenors can become part of AAP’s National Council since no elections have taken place throughout the country for them, through a duly maintained Active Members list as per AAP’s constitution.

The National Council can be composed, therefore, only as per provision in Article IV- F which states as “All those who come together to form the Party and are present in the first meeting of the Party, shall form the first National Council of the Party.”

At this point, kindly refer to letter number 4/RTI/32/2015/PPS-II/347 dated 25th February, 2015 sent by Sh Suman Kumar Das, Under Secretary, CPIO, to the undersigned in response to an RTI application filed by me in this regard wherein I had requested to be provided the names, in serial order, of the persons who came together to form the Aam Aadmi Party.

I was informed that document in this regard runs to 957 pages, and I could get the same on payment of Rs 1914/-. I made the payment vide receipt number 20098 dated 09/03/2015 to the ECI, and received the required documents accordingly

The total number of persons, in the records of ECI shared with me as above or otherwise, who came together to form the Aam Aadmi Party does not exceed 300. This is clearly a matter of record with ECI and is verifiable.

Therefore, the National Council members cannot exceed 300 in total as per records available with ECI, the AAP constitution registered with ECI, and the admitted video evidence shared as above.

It is thus demonstrated that the purported National Council consisting of 392 members as informed vide the press release that met on 28 March 2015 was completely ultra-vires the AAP constitution, and the figures quoted by the party secretariat are false, misleading and demeaning to average constitution abiding party members and citizens.

Also ,there are many National Council members on records of ECI  also, who have not been served any notice of expulsion by AAP, but were not allowed to attend the purported National Council meet of 28th March 2015. Such members are also willing to make a written statement to that effect and this has been reported in the media too.

Besides, the aforesaid evidence, there have been much more serious and grave reports of violence, subjugation & coercion having held inside the private and heavily guarded closed venue of the aforementioned purported National Council meet. In fact, the local law and order administration has had to duly register a FIR (Number 143 of 2015 dated 30/0/2015 at P.S. Kapashera) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. A copy of the FIR is attached in this mail as Annexure 3.

Aam Aadmi Party is not only a registered party under section 29A of Representation of People’s Act, 1951, it is also a recognised party by the Election Commission of India, under the Election Symbols(Reservation and Allotment) Order , 1968. Under para 16A of the Symbols order, every recognised party is expected to follow lawful directions and instructions of the Commission which it discharges under broad authority of article 324 of Constitution of India.

In exercise of such powers under para 16A of Symbol order, article 324 of Constitution of India, and with view of safeguarding general public interest in maintaining faith in democracy based on certain concessions to recognised parties and with the evidences presented to you I sincerely urge you to kindly

1) Instruct the Aam Aadmi party’s National Secretary, Sh Pankaj Gupta, to share the full unedited video recording of the proceedings of the purported National Council meeting of 28 March 2015 with the Election Commission of India. The unedited video recordings must contain recordings from all cameras present in the venue. No record of Election Commission of India, shall be updated with respect to the National Council meet of 28 March without making the full unedited video recordings available to the Commission.

2) Instruct the SHO, P.S. Kapashera, to share the full collected video evidence against FIR 143 of 2015 with the Election Commission of India.

3) Declare that the the aforementioned press release in Annexure 1 from Aam Aadmi Party’s secretariat  or any written communication to Election Commission with regard to the purported National Council meeting of 28 March 2015,as ultra-vires in light of evidence available and made available. 

4) Declare the purported National Council meet of Aam Aadmi Party of 28 March 2015 as ultra vires of the AAP constitution in light of evidence available and made available to the Election Commission.

5) Declare the purported National Council meet of Aam Aadmi Party of 28 March 2015 as ultra vires in light of  sufficient coercion and violence  at the venue.

Thanking you,

With regards,