I am like Abhimanyu: Vishwas to detractors

New Delhi: AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, who shared an uneasy relationship with the party leadership, on Sunday asserted he would not quit the outfit and that the party strayed from the path it had chosen to tread five years ago.

Addressing party volunteers on the occasion of 5th Foundation Day of the AAP, Vishwas took on his detractors within the party and said he was like Abhimanyu, the warrior son of Arjun who lost his life while fighting in the epic 'Mahabharata'.

"I was told that I will be insulted and compelled to quit. I would like to say that I am not going anywhere. I am like the Abhimanyu who will be victorious even in his death," Vishwas said.

Vishwas also emphasised the need for dialogue within the AAP and said the people who built the party believed in disagreeing over issues. Running away from questions amounts to being timid, he said. The comment was seen as a jibe to a section of party leaders.

He said the easiest way to crush a movement is to give it a face, a comment also seen as a jibe to his detractors within the party.

"This is why it is paramount to keep the country first, followed by the party and then the leader," he said.

He retorted to the tag of being a "part-time politician" labelled by a section of party leaders and said he preferred being a "full-time Indian and part-time politician', and added it was essential to look after one's own livelihood to ensure a spotless political life.

"Don't you think, we have strayed away from the road we took five years ago. We have to walk on the right path from where we started. We have lost some good volunteers due to arrogance and insecurities and we need to bring them back," Vishwas said.

The poet-politician and founder member of the AAP has had an uneasy relationship with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Vishwas is unhappy with the leadership for several reasons and has been attacking a "coterie" surrounding Kejriwal. But a major reason has been revoking the suspension of AAP MLA Amantullah last month, who had accused Vishwas of being a "BJP-RSS agent".