A day after the Election Commission issued him a notice for allegedly promoting bribery, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday reiterated his appeal to voters to accept bribes offered by political parties but cast their ballot for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
“If they are being offered Rs 5,000, I would tell them to ask for Rs 10,000 from Akali Dal, BJP and Congress but vote for AAP,” the party’s national convenor said in Chandigarh.
Addressing the media, Kejriwal claimed that this matter has been already settled in court.
”Someone had filed a case when I said the same thing before the Delhi elections but the court ruled that I’m not promoting bribery but stopping it,” he said.
But the poll panel on Monday issued a notice to Kejriwal over the violation of the model code of conduct for his reported remarks in poll-bound Goa.
The EC pointed out that Kejriwal said at a rally that Congress and BJP will come to distribute money.
Kejriwal reportedly added people should accept it in new currency and ask for Rs 10,000 instead of Rs 5,000, keeping in mind the inflation, but that their votes should go to AAP.
The commission said the AAP leader’s statement amounts to “abetting and promoting electoral offence of bribery”.
“If they are being offered Rs 5,000, I would tell them to ask for Rs 10,000 from Akali Dal, BJP and Congress but vote for AAP.”
Attack on Badals
On Tuesday, Kejriwal said once the AAP comes to power in Punjab, it would set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the corruption allegations against the Badals and recover the amount “with interest and penalty”.
He said Punjab cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia, who has been “named by international drug dealers” for his involvement in spreading drugs in the state, would be arrested by April 15.
“Kewal nasha nahi, logon ko inke dar se bhi mukti milegi (Not only drugs, people would be freed from his fear too),” he said.
On Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh’s decision to contest against chief minister Parkash Singh Badal from Lambi constituency, Kejriwal said Amarinder was trying to help Badal so that AAP candidate Jarnail Singh doesn’t win from there.
“Badal had approached Amarinder for help, and he would withdraw cases against him in return,” he said. “He’s not contesting to defeat Badal but to help him win from there.”
Asked to comment on Navjot Singh Sidhu’s joining the Congress, the AAP leader said the cricketer-turned politician was “over” and it doesn’t matter now.
Source: HindustanTimes