A founder member of the Aam Aadmi Party, Ilyas Azmi, quit the party on Monday because of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s “autocratic style of functioning” and its “lack of inner democracy”, PTI reported. Azmi also claimed Kejriwal ignored Muslims and party members from backward classes, and indulged in caste-based politics.

“There is hardly any Muslim representation in AAP. Kejriwal is appointing people of his own community to key posts in the government,” he reportedly said. He added that he was against removing former AAP members Yogendra Yadav and Prashanth Bhushan, who were expelled for anti-party activities. Yadav and Bhushan had also challenged Kejriwal after the Delhi Assembly elections in 2015. They co-founded a political organisation, Swaraj Abhiyan.

Azmi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party as well, and said "dictatorship cannot be replaced by another dictatorship."