New Delhi: A team of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrived at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP’s) national convener Arvind Kejriwal to probe his ‘poaching claims’. The ACB wanted to record his statement. Earlier in the day, Delhi LG’s principal secretary wrote to the chief secretary to conduct an ACB Inquiry on allegations of bribes offered to MLAs of the AAP.
On Thursday, Kejriwal alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had offered Rs 15 crore to 16 AAP candidates to switch sides. However, the BJP rejected the allegations and threatened to take legal action against the AAP supremo.
Visuals From Outside Kejriwal’s Residence:
In a post on X, Kejriwal claimed that 16 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates had received offers from the BJP with the promise of ministerial positions and Rs 15 crore each if they switch sides.
“Some agencies are showing that the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 55 seats. In the last two hours, 16 of our candidates have received calls that if they leave the AAP and join their party, they will be made ministers and given Rs 15 crore each,” Kejriwal said in his post in Hindi on the microblogging platform.
“If they are indeed winning more than 55 seats, why are they calling up our candidates? These fake surveys are a conspiracy to create an atmosphere to break AAP candidates. But not a single one of them will switch sides,” he asserted.
Kejriwal’s Tweet:
Backing Kejriwal’s claimed, AAP candidate from Sultanpur Majra and Delhi minister Mukesh Ahlawat said he was approached with such a offer. “I may die, I may be cut into pieces, but I will never abandon Arvind Kejriwal,” Ahlawat said in a post on X. “I was told that their government is being formed and they will make me a minister and give me Rs 15 crore if I leave the AAP and join them. But the respect that Kejriwal and the AAP have given me, I will never leave my party till my death,” he added.
Earlier on Thursday, AAP leader Sanjay Singh raised these allegations at a press conference here, claiming that seven party MLAs had received calls or were approached in person with offers from BJP leaders.
“This clearly shows that the BJP has accepted its defeat even before the results and is now resorting to such tactics,” the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva rejected the allegations, calling them a sign of the AAP’s “frustration” over an impending electoral defeat.
