My Letters To AAP: March 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Fwd: About Calling Campaign and My concerns from Delhi In-fighting

March 26, 2015, 5:11 AM

Dear AAP NC Members,

I am forwarding to you my email about the calling campaign that I wrote to some of the top AAP leaders on March 21, 2015. Please excuse me if this is a repeat.

I sent it to AAP top leaders because some AAP social media people started an effort to discredit #UnitedAAP efforts of volunteers. Another curious piece of mischievous reporting appeared in Times of India. And we rebutted that too (ttps://aamjanata.com/aap-nc-meeting-fact-fiction/) AND I communicated about it in my email below. This link has details about the calling campaign, 27 informal meeting of NC members among other things.

Today I forward my email to all of you because, once again, rumors are being spread. So, I urge you all to take a moment and read my email attached below and check out the links therein.

Also, for reference, I have posted all my emails to AAP leadership and NC members on :
http://myletterstoaap.blogspot.com/

It is really sad to see what some AAP leaders are doing. Do we have any no clue how many volunteers are being ridiculed by family and friends? How many of them are depressed and some are actually on medication ? Thank you Delhi leadership for returning such favors.

I Still believe Satyameva Jayate! No matter how many scripts we write and enact, truth will prevail !

I Appeal you once again to Please attend the meeting on 28 March in Delhi (venue still undecided in my knowledge). If you are available, please meet with your fellow NC members informally on 27 March. I hear that the informal meet will be at YMCA (near Jantar Mantar). Please contact Dr Rakesh Parikh's number (from his Facebook): 91-9950658647.

Please place the nation's interest and future before anything else when you make decisions.

Falguni

********. Forwarding Email for your reference *********

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Falguni Patadia <falgunipatadia@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2015
Subject: About Calling Campaign and My concerns from Delhi In-fighting
To: Arvind Kejriwal <parivartanindia@gmail.com>, Manish Sisodia <msisodia@gmail.com>, "yogendra.yadav@gmail.com" <yogendra.yadav@gmail.com>, Prashant Bhushan <prashantbhush@gmail.com>, Lara Ramdas <lramdas@gmail.com>, Medha Patkar <medha.narmada@gmail.com>, Alok Agarwal <aloknba@gmail.com>, atishi@gmail.com, Anand Kumar <anandkumar1@hotmail.com>, Rakesh Sinha <rks6546@gmail.com>, Meera Sanyal <meerasanyal@gmail.com>, "unitedaap@gmail.com" <unitedaap@gmail.com>, "Dr.kumar Vishvas" <kumarvishvas@gmail.com>, Mayank Gandhi <mayankgandhi04@gmail.com>, Gul Panag <gulpanag@gmail.com>, "dvgandhi1951@yahoo.com" <dvgandhi1951@yahoo.com>, Gopal Rai <gopalrai1975@gmail.com>

Dear All,

With respect to GlobalAAP Volunteers participating in UnitedAAP's calling campaign, I would like to bring few things to your attention please :

We admire, recognize and highly appreciate ALL the top Leaders of AAP. We have a great appreciation of the commitment and sacrifices of these leaders. They have played key roles in bringing AAP where it is today.
We DO NOT have an iota of doubt about their integrity, intentions and capability to deliver the promises made to Delhi. Promises will be delivered. No doubt whatsoever.
We are NOT against anyone. We still stand by you - all of you top leaders. We are NOT calling FOR or AGAINST Anyone! We are calling to save AAP's future.
Therefore, we are seeking a #UnitedAAP - this movement needs all of you and us.

If someone is telling you that AAP volunteers are calling to gain support for/against person X or Y or Z - it is a plain lie that will stand exposed if need be.

So, why are we calling NC members ? आखिर क्यों ?

What unraveled after 26 February 2015 was shocking, angering and discouraging
Global Volunteer Chapters wrote a letter to AAP appealing them to stay United! Many chapters wrote individual letters too.
NOBODY even acknowledged the receipt of these letters. We have no clue if anyone even read them.
Nobody from AAP communicated with us to allow us to know what was going on.
There was nobody to get our questions and concerns addressed
Note that there existed the quickest possible turn-around time up until the in-fighting unfolded.
Volunteers started the "Ghanti Bajao" campaign to reach out to NE members in a desperate effort to convey our message to stay United and to appeal for a #UnitedAAP
That effort went in vain.
Decision to oust 2 members was made on 4 March 2014 and till date there is NO communication from AAP leadership to volunteers, their letters, concerns and appeals.
Yes, there was an official statement from those leaders in whom we have lost faith. That official statement was indeed without substance and did not say anything different from what was in media. It did not answer our questions / concerns.

Starting from 26 Feb 2015, in the midst of tweets, and news and unreasonable press conference, conspicuous silence of the National Convenor of AAP, the abandonment of a sinking ship by the captain of the ship himself, ousting of 2 PAC members, withholding of NC members information, no communication and no answers, etc etc etc., the volunteers who cared about the movement called AAP, were left with no option other than (a) calling and emailing NC council members and (b) appealing NC members to work with highest conscience towards a #UNITEDAAP and towards finding solutions that can help restore the core principles of the AAP. I believe that THIS is the need of the hour so that what just happened in Delhi DOES NOT REPEAT. If we fail to do that, we shall fail to reach our goal.

I personally think that Volunteers and supporters of AAP have acted in a much more mature way by opting to talk to NC members and not draw conclusions by relying on news, media or social media etc.

I request you to please take the time to see what is unitedaap.org and what does it stands for?

There was an effort to malign our calling campaign through mischievous reporting by TOI and we rebutted as below:

https://aamjanata.com/aap-nc-meeting-fact-fiction/

Those from outside or inside, trying to malign honest and true efforts to Unite AAP will be exposed for they are against Truth, Honesty and Transparency. Finding and exposing those people is not our goal; that can be done if and when required. Our goal is to achieve a United AAP and find solutions to problems that have surfaced !

We are your family. We are NOT against you. Please let us help you to build a stronger and sustainable AAP.

I sincerely hope that AAP leadership and NC members listen to our voice and take corrective measures in nation's interest to save this movement.

Dear Arvind, if you had only come out and said "my dear family, winning Delhi was imperative. I'm sure you understand. We could not take a chance. Some things were probably not done the way we all wanted to but here on, I promise to work with you on building a stronger, transparent, honest, accountable and united AAP. Here is the plan - chip in! " - Trust me, we would've understood. We would've laid our life for AAP.

Today, I ask where is my leader? Am I on the right path?

Dear AAP leaders, Choices will be made after 28 March - please take serious note of that. Some will silently retreat with a killed hope. It will take couple of decades for people to trust any political party again !!! Please take time to read what is clearly written on the wall! Please don't fail us and the nation's hope.

Satyameva Jataye!

Falguni

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe - Anatole France"

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

About Calling Campaign and My concerns from Delhi In-fighting

March 21, 2015, 4:40 PM

Dear All,

With respect to GlobalAAP Volunteers participating in UnitedAAP's calling campaign, I would like to bring few things to your attention please :

We admire, recognize and highly appreciate ALL the top Leaders of AAP. We have a great appreciation of the commitment and sacrifices of these leaders. They have played key roles in bringing AAP where it is today.
We DO NOT have an iota of doubt about their integrity, intentions and capability to deliver the promises made to Delhi. Promises will be delivered. No doubt whatsoever.
We are NOT against anyone. We still stand by you - all of you top leaders. We are NOT calling FOR or AGAINST Anyone! We are calling to save AAP's future.
Therefore, we are seeking a #UnitedAAP - this movement needs all of you and us.

If someone is telling you that AAP volunteers are calling to gain support for/against person X or Y or Z - it is a plain lie that will stand exposed if need be.

So, why are we calling NC members ? आखिर क्यों ?

What unraveled after 26 February 2015 was shocking, angering and discouraging
Global Volunteer Chapters wrote a letter to AAP appealing them to stay United! Many chapters wrote individual letters too.
NOBODY even acknowledged the receipt of these letters. We have no clue if anyone even read them.
Nobody from AAP communicated with us to allow us to know what was going on.
There was nobody to get our questions and concerns addressed
Note that there existed the quickest possible turn-around time up until the in-fighting unfolded.
Volunteers started the "Ghanti Bajao" campaign to reach out to NE members in a desperate effort to convey our message to stay United and to appeal for a #UnitedAAP
That effort went in vain.
Decision to oust 2 members was made on 4 March 2014 and till date there is NO communication from AAP leadership to volunteers, their letters, concerns and appeals.
Yes, there was an official statement from those leaders in whom we have lost faith. That official statement was indeed without substance and did not say anything different from what was in media. It did not answer our questions / concerns.

I request you to please take the time to see what is unitedaap.org and what does it stands for?

There was an effort to malign our calling campaign through mischievous reporting by TOI and we rebutted as below:

https://aamjanata.com/aap-nc-meeting-fact-fiction/

We are your family. We are NOT against you. Please let us help you to build a stronger and sustainable AAP.

I sincerely hope that AAP leadership and NC members listen to our voice and take corrective measures in nation's interest to save this movement.

Today, I ask where is my leader? Am I on the right path?

Satyameva Jataye!

Falguni

"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe - Anatole France"

[COPY OF OFFICIAL INVITATION] : AAP NATIONAL COUNCIL MEETING ON 28 MARCH 2015

March 17, 2015, 12:43 PM

Hello All,

Volunteers of AAP are running a national calling campaign and talking
to NC members.

WHY? : (1) We decided not to rely on news and learn what the
problem is from AAP members
(2) We want to learn about the Real Issue at hand

(3) We want to convey our voice

(4) #BelieveInParticipatoryDemocracy and work
towards #United AAP

So, in the process we learnt several things. One important thing was
that quite a few NC members have not received the 28 march NC meeting
invitation. While few email IDs in the EC list of NC members were
outdated, there are other IDs that are current and haven't received
the invitation. On their request, I am sending out a copy of the
"official email" that was sent out.

I request the national secretary to take note and initiate corrective
measures. As per AAP constitution, members are to be notified of NC
meeting atleast 21 days in advance.

I urge all NC members to attend the meeting on 28 March.

This is the official email that was sent on 7 March 2015 :

***************************************

Dear National Council Member,
Aam Aadmi Party

Subject: Notice for National Council Meet, Aam Aadmi Party

This is to inform that next National Council meeting will be held on
28th March 2015 in New Delhi. Venue will be intimated at a later date.

Proposed Agenda for the NC Meeting on 28th March, 2015 is as follow:

. Till 10.30 am Registration
. Welcome address by National Convener
. National Secretary’s Report
. National Treasurer's Report
. Report on Delhi Elections and Update on Delhi Government
. Current Organization status / MV
. Lunch
. Suggestions by the NC members on Delhi Government and Organization Building
. Open house on Land Acquisition Bill
. Any other Agenda by permission of Chair
. Address by National Convener
. Vote of Thanks

Regards,

Pankaj Gupta
National Secretary
Aam Aadmi Party
Delhi, 7th March 2015
**********************

NB: I received the official email copy from volunteers

Re: [EMPOWERMENT] : Appeal To Take Informed Decision

Sunday, March 15, 2015, 5:48 pm

XXXXX YYYYYji,

Thank you very much for your response. I greatly appreciate you bringing up a very important issue to discuss. Indeed, I was planning on asking about this very issue in my next email. I hold views similar to yours.

You raised a very good question " can we mitigate these miseries by bring good governance alone, or we need to do something more basic than that ? "

I have had this question in mind since the proposal of Smart Cities started floating in the nation. Now when I hear from AAP Leadership that we will concentrate on Delhi and will not go national, the same question rushes back to me in context of AAP.

First, I want to state that as of now, I am willing to bet that ALL AAP supporters firmly believe that Delhi government will deliver, its intentions are good and they are here to keep their promises to Delhi. No doubt in that whatsoever.

Then, I'd like to take the opportunity to ask few questions as a follow up of XXXXXji's email.

What makes the Delhi model sustainable and reproducible countrywide ?
How are feedbacks factored in? For example, Like XXXXXji mentioned, if Delhi becomes an ideal city, it will see influx of people, and can easily see 'diseconomies of scale.'
The above question leads to the next logical question, if #2 is holds, then is it "wise" or "myopic" to limit ourself to Delhi?
In other words, shouldn't we parallelly be thinking of "Smart Villages" and "Smart Sub-Urban Regions" ?
Lets say SWARAJ and Lokpal bills pass in Delhi, how will it benefit greater India by restricting ourselves to Delhi ?
If it is true that looking at the "Ideal Delhi City", other cities and states will be encouraged to replicate the Delhi model. May be true. But then why have we not seen this happen until now? Why has Bihar not adopted Tamil Nadu model which is by-far the best by several development indices ?

I want to believe that there is a plan. But what is that plan? Mission Vistar? In this regard, it was a sad learning curve for me. When I talked to some of the people volunteering in Mission Vistar, I came across questions such as these :

Why should I volunteer to do all this, often with minimal support, if AAP Leadership has decided to focus on Delhi ?
If ethics are being compromised in Delhi, why should I do this as a part of AAP? I did not join AAP to do routine dirty politics. If that's what AAP wants to practice, I wouldn't waste my time
Our people did not go to volunteer just for Delhi. We had the nation in mind. We had alternate clean politics in mind. If its going to be business-as-usual, I will not volunteer in this effort

Raises Important Questions for Leadership :

Are we sure we are assessing the impact of delhi in-fighting fiasco aptly ?
Are we giving due attention to the dejection among volunteers?
Have we thought through the feedback of (1) and (2) on this movement? Will it discourage honest, dedicated volunteers and encourage opportunists ?
Where will (3) lead us to ? Another routine party in long run??

In lieu of above thoughts, I appeal to all NC members and AAP leadership to treat this situation in all seriousness. It indeed is a matter of the future of AAP. Act and decide very judiciously. If I were the national convenor of AAP, this would ring an alarm to me and I would step up and make some hard decisions to save AAP, the movement.

Dear NC members, Please take the time to think through --- what are we actually here for? Are we going to get there? If yes, may I request the Leadership to communicate this to its supporters? If no, what should we do? What is the solution?

Satyameva Jayate! Jai Hind

Falguni

[EMPOWERMENT] : Appeal To Take Informed Decision

Saturday, March 14, 2015, 8:01 am

Dear NC Members,

As you prepare to attend the AAP National Council Meeting on 28 March 2015 in Delhi,

I appeal you to empower yourself with information and knowledge on the state of matters. I appeal you to take informed and well thought through decisions.

Then I appeal you to read the AAP Constitution. I read it and its not too long. Attaching it in this email. Take a printed copy with you to the meeting, if you see it fit.

I am a volunteer therefore I self-nominated myself to empower you with some relevant information. Please take time to read , introspect and reflect on what is the right thing to do for the future of AAP.

(1) Admiral Ramdas' Letter

http://scroll.in/article/710542/Full-text:-Admiral-Ramdas-writes-to-AAP-leaders-urging-them-to-be-'together-and-united'

(2) http://unitedaap.org/

http://unitedaap.org/results.php

http://unitedaap.org/team.php

[only one measurable way to quantify support, don't forget to introspect on other kinds of support AAP has received]

(2) Please see poll results of more than 11300 participants here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1h6gARaSoTN3-_hYBHnsUD7WAILK1POOYhmtuOISIcAA/viewanalytics

(3) Did you know that AAP social media team compromised with ethics ? Read how in link below.

Note, this compromise is verifiable. I share it to only demonstrate that, indeed, things have been compromised in AAP - do we want to keep making such compromises in future?

https://aamjanata.com/what-is-really-going-on-with-aap/

Please be reminded that the goal of NC meeting is NOT to find out who is right and who is wrong.

Time is precious. So, lets leave that to an independent investigation headed by Lokpal - Do you agree?

What do you think should be the goal then? I think, the NC Meeting goal should be to work on solutions that can mend the broken structure of AAP and bring back AAP to its founding principles. I believe, only that can keep AAP from compromising in future.

I stand for #UnitedAAP. I stand for principles and ethics. I stand for accountability. I stand for transparency. I am not willing to donate time or money for unethical, dishonest, opaque and unaccountable practices!

Think of nation first, AAP next and ourselves last.

Satyameva Jayate! Jai Hind !

Falguni - One of those unknown volunteer faces

NB: If you are wondering how I got your email IDs - an RTI had to be filed by a volunteer who paid 1914/- to get this list from Election Commission. Could not get this public information from AAP even after RTI was filed by volunteer.

Sachai mei bahut takat hoti hai - Open Letter to AAP

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 , 9:03 pm

Dear All,

The best and worst things for Aam Aadmi Party are its Volunteers and Supporters.

Best because :

These are honest people
These are diligent people
These are people with very high ideals and conscience
These are people who are very aware
These are people whose heart beats for their motherland
These are people who really mean to change the living conditions of Indians
These are people who don't want ANY personal favors in return

Worst because :

These people have recognized, questioned and rejected the existing malpractices adopted by every other political party in India (There is no need to remind that this is the reason why these people supported AAP in any way possible).

So, now when the "few" AAP leaders "chose" a script to fool people into thinking that two of AAP's top leaders are being removed from PAC because of " ANTI PARTY ACTIVITIES " they stood exposed even without ANY proof because the volunteers/supporters immediately "recognized" THAT DIRTY POLITICAL PATTERN that they have witnessed life long !!

All those participating in writing this script please remember few things :

NOBODY is buying this great script you have proudly written out
we can see through every single move of yours
People have only learnt about your political immaturity and lack of strong leadership skill and values above all
We have learnt that you (the few) can compromise to any extent to win elections and are not trustworthy
Please be reminded that Delhi was NEVER the goal ... it was only the foundation stone ... the goal is still far away and the few of you are trying to derail our movement from reaching that goal. We will not let it happen.
You have already caused a HUGE damage to our movement

Please treat this letter as a "wake up" call for trust me, the wrong side will have to loose; for truth shall prevail because this party and movement was nourished by honest people. What we gave birth to cannot be dishonest as you the " few " are !

Your supporters and volunteers will not let you the "few" snatch away this movement and their dream and hope for a better India !

So please stop. Take a break. Clear your mind. Recognize the power of truth and honesty. And retreat from what you are trying to achieve. Volunteer in the movement for Swaraj or leave.

I appeal everyone to act and make decisions with highest conscience in deciding on the current AAP issue, for you will be doing the highest service to your motherland by saving this movement from derailing. History will remember you and India will be indebted to you forever.

Jai Hind!

Satyameva Jayate!

An Open Letter From One of those HONEST unknown volunteer faces - Falguni