AAP not checking out new members
Since a week Aam Aadmi Party men have been on a Main Bhi Aam Aadmi membership drive across the city.
Hyderabad: Since a week Aam Aadmi Party men have been on a Main Bhi Aam Aadmi membership drive across the city. Party officials are offering free membership from January 10 to 26, which is attracting people by the droves.
While the party’s central leadership is aiming at enrolling two crore members by the end of January, the state unit is targeting two lakh. However, with the Aam Aadmi Party coming across as a pleasant surprise for many, registrations have been on a full swing.
One thing needs to be noted – there is not much scrutiny of members at the ground level. This makes the process similar to the exercises conducted by any other political party. “When we register members, we ask for ID proof. We give them a receipt or acknowledgement after enrolment. In the last three days, we have had 3000-4000 people registering every day. A similar trend has been observed across the state,” said an official.
State Coordination Committee member C. Vinod Kumar says, “If any member is given responsibility, then we will verify his background and other details. If a person from another party is joining AAP, he must submit a copy of his resignation letter.”
He added. With registrations happening in thousands every day, there is very little scope to ensure a corrupt-free body. Only the basic details are being recorded. One can become a member or help others become a member by filling out a form at the Aam Aadmi Party website. One can also SMS the name, STD code, and name of the Assembly constituency to 07798220033. Or one could also give a missed call to 07798220033 if one wished to become a member.
The process is almost similar to that of the Telugu Desam Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Telangana Rashtra Samithi. The AAP registration is free now, but initially people had to pay Rs 10 for a primary membership. In the case of Telugu Desam Party, the membership fee is Rs 50, and for Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress, it is Rs 20.
“Most of the parties only ask for a photograph and an ID proof. So is the Aam Aadmi Party. So, what’s the difference here? Where is the ground-level scrutiny that they were making tall claims about? I hope something evolves soon” said another AAP member.