'Feels Bad When Comrades Divert From Principles,' Says Former AAP Leader Prashant Bhusan

New Delhi: Prashant Bhushan, who was recently expelled from the Aam Aadmi Party, said on Monday that the party was "deviating" from the path of principled politics.

"I don't believe that I was insulted. When a dishonest person throws muck at you without any reason then he insults himself and not you. I do feel saddened when I see people whom I worked with to usher in alternative politics going away from those principles and things falling apart. I feel bad. But this is part and parcel of life and we need to move on," Mr Bhushan said at an event organised to felicitate him for his petitions in public interest.

AAP legislator Pankaj Pushkar was also present in the event.

Yogendra Yadav, who was also expelled from AAP along with Mr Bhushan, said that "beating one's own drum" had become a norm of modern public life.

"TV turns individuals into something else. It has its own pitfalls. The more we make someone larger than life the further he drifts away from us. As the person grows in stature it's like we grow smaller," he said.

Prof Anand Kumar, another expelled leader and Admiral L Ramdas, who was removed as AAP's internal Lokpal were also present at the event organised at the Gandhi Peace Foundation.

In his keynote address, Mr Bhushan advised people on ways and means to file a successful Public Interest Litigation or PIL acceptable to the higher courts of law, saying, most importantly, one ought to have a proper grasp over the issue in which the litigation is to be filed.

"Before filing a PIL, we need to study the issue properly and also offer a solution to the court. One should be prepared for a long battle. Public opinion should be mobilised as well," he said.

Mr Bhushan said he was not afraid of criticising judges for "wrong judgements", pointing out which was a must according to him, and said there was a "class bias" in the Indian judiciary as many judges come from a "privileged background".