Chanda Bandh Satyagraha by Dr Munish Raizada with Blessing of Anna Hazare to fight against AAP’s Opaque Funding Practices

by Munish Raizada

December 26, 2016: Aam Aadmi Party is a party which claims 100% financial transparency, it is a part of their donation policy. However, from June 2016 the donation details is missing from the party's website. The page says, "Under Construction. New Version coming soon" for past 6 months.

• Of late, AAP started questioning the other parties about their funding source claiming AAP is the only party that has transparency in its source of funding. However, their website doesn't really say so.
• On 25th November, the eve of AAP's foundation day, I wrote an open letter to the Aam Aadmi Party asking them to unveil the list of the donors and a deadline of 1 week was given to reveal the details. It was also stated that if it is not revealed within the deadline given, we would have to launch "Chanda Bandh Satyagraha".

• Since the party failed to do that, I started the Chanda bandh Satyagraha campaign, which is about asking people not to donate until the party puts the list of donors back on the website.
• On December 21, I went to India and visited Anna Hazare Ji on the very next day in Pune. Prior appointment with Anna Hazare Ji was done by Sunil Lal. A detailed discussion on the matter was done and Anna Ji was handed a copy of the open letter that was written to AAP.

• On December 23, we were attending a press conference in Delhi and on that very day Anna ji sent us a reply supporting our demand for financial transparency in AAP. We received the letter after the press conference, therefore, it was not shown to the press but it and was soon released via Social Media.

• When Anna raised the issue of why AAP is not showing donation details on its website, the Yug Purush's coterie got into action and started blaming me as a Congress agent.
• I am a (suspended) member of AAP. Lakhs of volunteers, supporters and members like us gave our time, money and resources to IAC and then AAP to create an ideology-based political movement. The party truly belongs to them, but unfortunately Yug Purush and his coterie have now hijacked the party.
• The corrupt leadership of AAP MUST restore the financial transparency of our party with immediate effect and honor the 4 demands that I had raised in my open letter to AAP on the eve of Foundation Day (Nov 26, 2016). Nothing less than that is acceptable to us as far as financial transparency of the party is concerned.

• I never joined Congress Party. I -as I said- continue to be the member (suspended) of Aam Aadmi Party. I had clearly stated on May 2, 2016, via a facebook post (attached) that I never joined Congress and that must be honored. AAP's corrupt top leaders can not take refuse in this political 'excuse' and continue to mess around with Donors' List issue.

• I proudly state that I am a Suspended member of AAP, because here too the few wheeler-dealers who are running the party showed their lack of integrity and suspended me on a baseless ground. I take pride that I stand for principles and refuse to align with whims of the one man who is running the party, not realizing how he has systematically destroyed the whole principles of our Aam Aadmi Party.
• I am a proud AAPian (suspended member) who came to support the ideology. Restore the donors' list on the website. Show you spine and stop making excuses on the issue of financial transparency.Reading Anna's letter written to AAP's convener, I can only say, it is a moral vindication of our demand for Financial Transparency in AAP.

The author is a Chicago-based Doctor (Neonatologist) and the convenor of Chanda Bandh Satyagraha against Aam Aadmi Party(AAP).