Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit back at Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal for alleging that BJP had offered seven AAP MLAs ₹25 crore, and an election ticket to switch sides. BJP dismissed the claims as 'false' and 'baseless'. The saffron party also asked CM Kejriwal for proof of his claim.
AAP leaders, including president Arvind Kejriwal, claimed that seven MLAs had been offered from the party ₹25 crore each and a BJP ticket for the elections if they switched sides.
The BJP on Saturday dismissed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's claim that it was trying to poach AAP lawmakers to topple his government as “false” and “baseless” and asked him to provide evidence to substantiate its claim staff, or to resign.
AAP leaders, including chairman Kejriwal, claimed that seven MLAs had been offered from the party ₹25 crore each and a BJP ticket for the elections if they switched sides.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal should stop 'lying' and challenged him to name the MLAs who, the AAP chief claims, have been contacted by the BJP.
“Kejriwal's statement shows his political frustration. He said that the BJP wants to demolish the MLAs from his party. This shows his mental bankruptcy and how much a party of 62 MLAs (out of 70 in the Assembly) is frustrated after losing its political ground.” he said.
Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said Chief Minister Kejriwal has “made false allegations to defame the BJP”.
“He must provide proof of his statement, otherwise he will have to resign as chief minister,” Bidhuri said, adding that the BJP is consulting experts for legal action in the matter.
He also alleged that Kejriwal's dream of becoming a major political leader in the country was shattering as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity soared after the inauguration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
“The BJP is going to win 400 seats in the Lok Sabha polls, so AAP is falsely accusing the BJP of poaching its MLAs,” he said.
The AAP leaders have also alleged that the BJP was conspiring to get Kejriwal arrested in a “fake” liquor scam case and topple his government by poaching AAP MLAs.
Sachdeva said, “People can see that Kejriwal needs an alliance to survive as his political standing has dipped before the Lok Sabha polls. So he is making such absurd statements so that he can stay alive politically.”
The “absurd” claims made by Kejriwal and other AAP leaders, including Delhi Minister Atishi, show that they have lost all their discretion before their impending fall, said Bansuri Swaraj, general secretary of the Delhi BJP.
“Kejriwal has now run out of excuses to avoid the ED probe into the liquor scam, so he has started resorting to lies,” she accused.
Kejriwal has so far skipped four notices from the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged excise tax scam in his government.
Kamaljit Sehrawat, general secretary of the Delhi BJP, alleged that there was “unrest” among AAP MLAs and MPs, and Kejriwal accused the BJP “due to frustration with its own people”.
“Kejriwal is making wild allegations against the BJP to divert attention from how the opposition bloc Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) was falling apart in several states,” alleged Praveen Shankar Kapoor, head of the Delhi BJP's media cell.
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Published: Jan 27, 2024 7:47 PM IST