Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 14: After telling the slum dwellers in Delhi that the BJP if voted to power in the Delhi Assembly elections would make them homeless, the former chief minister and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that the BJP leadership had plans to buy votes by distributing gold chains to the voters in the national capital.
The BJP has not only hit him back claiming that he had “lost his mental balance,” the party has also accused the chief minister Atishi of having violated the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) by “misusing” government vehicles for political works and demanded that she resign as the chief minister and also retire from the contest on moral grounds by withdrawing her nomination paper from the Kalkaji constituency she filed earlier in the day.
Amid political attacks and counter-attacks, Mr Kejriwal accused the BJP of having hatched a plan to distribute gold chains to lure voters. Mr Kejriwal has alleged that the BJP leadership had sent the chains to be distributed, but local BJP leaders are pocketing them. The former Chief Minister has asked Delhi voters to take those chains if they want but urged them not to sell their votes because the election results would determine their and their family’s future.
In a post on X, Mr Kejriwal referred to the BJP as a “slangs party”, doubling down on his charge that the BJP had no agenda for Delhi, but was only bent on abusing the AAP leader. “Now they have sent their leaders gold chains to distribute among voters. But they are not distributing them. Those going to their offices and creating an issue are being given the chains to silence them. If you want the chain too, go and get it from their offices,” he said.
“But don’t sell your vote. Your vote is precious. Your vote decides your, your children’s and the country’s future. Don’t vote for those who are offering money and chains. Vote for anyone except those buying votes,” he said.
Responding to the AAP leader’s allegations, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari told the media, “Today we heard Kejriwal and the conclusion I have reached is that he has lost mental stability. He is frequently abusing Delhi. Why does this situation arise? It’s because when you don’t do any work,” he said. Mr Tiwari said Mr Kejriwal is a “sellout”. “You are a sellout who gets sold to liquor traders. Delhi people are not sellouts.”
Later addressing a press conference, BJP MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri demanded Ms Atishi to stay away from the contest on moral grounds claiming that she had violated the MCC by using a government vehicle for campaign-related work. According to him, Ms Atishi has her election office in Govindpuri where campaign materials were transported using a vehicle of the government Public Works Department (PWD). He also alleged that AAP volunteers are using Delhi government vehicles to travel from one place to another.
“The Delhi Police has registered an FIR against a PWD official for violating the MCC,” officials said. The returning officer initially filed a complaint against Ms Atishi, alleging the use of a government vehicle for political purposes on January 7.
‘Following a detailed investigation, the police registered an FIR against the PWD official for using a government vehicle for election campaigning,” a police officer said. The case was filed at the Govindpuri police station on the complaint by a BJP leader. Bidhuri said Atishi should resign from the post of Chief Minister and withdraw her nomination from Kalkaji on moral grounds for “violating” MCC.
Ms Atishi and her Congress rival for the Kalkaji seat Alka Lamba filed nominations on Tuesday, a day after an FIR was filed against the PWD official. Regarding the FIR, she said, “The whole country saw that Parvesh Verma was distributing money. Women came on TV and said they were given Rs 1100 to press the lotus button. After that, he tweeted saying that he was distributing glasses in a health camp. Then he was distributing sheets and bedspreads with his name in Kidwai Nagar. The Election Commission does not see any violation of the Model Code of Conduct in this.”
Just six hours after asking people to fund her assembly election campaign, Atishi raised more than Rs 15 lakh through her online portal on Sunday. She has set a goal of garnering Rs 40 lakh as her election campaign fund.
Ms Lamba too filed her nomination papers on Tuesday. The 49-year-old leader left the Congress in 2013 and joined the Aam Aadmi Party. Two years later, she went on to win the election to the Delhi assembly from Chandni Chowk constituency. In 2019, she left the AAP and returned to her parent party, the Congress.