Kejriwal seeking Congress' help over ordinance to evade arrest: Ajay Maken

New Delhi, June 25 (IANS) Congress leader Ajay Maken on Sunday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for seeking party’s help regarding ordinance saying it is a desperate attempt to evade imprisonment on corruption charges.

He said that his proclamation of opposition unity is not for cohesion but a calculated move to sabotage it and curry favour with the BJP.

In a tweet, the former Union minister Maken said, “Arvind Kejriwal seeks Congress’s help for the ordinance, yet unabashedly ridicules our esteemed leaders, including Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan.”

He said that his ministers place prerequisites on our alliance, while their chief spokesperson publicly disparages our party and leaders on the day of all opposition party meeting.

“To brazenly criticize and then demand support, is this how alliances are sought, Kejriwal? Arvind Kejriwal’s political manoeuvres in recent weeks have left many baffled. However, let me elucidate the truth. His desperate attempts to evade imprisonment on corruption charges, wherein two of his colleagues are already jailed, are reasons for these actions. His proclamations of opposition unity are not for cohesion but a calculated move to sabotage it and curry favour with the BJP,” the Congress leader said.

He said that the past actions of the AAP in Parliament, the Delhi Legislative Assembly, or elsewhere only reinforce their surreptitious alliance with the BJP.

“Kejriwal’s betrayals are infamous - just ask Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav, and the founders of the Anna Movement. In Hindi, it's aptly said about him, 'Aisa koi saga nahin, jisko Kejriwal ne Thaga Nahin',” Maken said charging the AAP leader for removing AAP’s founding party members.

The Congress leader also highlighted how AAP contested elections in Punjab, Gujarat, Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam and said: “However, be assured Arvind Kejriwal, your deeds have not gone unnoticed. Your massive corruption and utilization of these ill-gotten funds to sabotage Congress in Goa, Gujarat, Punjab, Himachal, Uttarakhand, and Assam, just to help the BJP, won’t be forgotten.

“Under the guise of ‘Aam Admi’ or ‘Ordinary Man’, you’ve manipulated Delhi’s citizens, using Rs 171 crore of public money to build a palace for yourself. Your actions have unmasked the grim truth, Kejriwal. You’re no longer a champion of the ‘Aam Aadmi’ or a crusader against corruption. Instead, you stand knee-deep in corruption, living a lavish lifestyle like a king in your ‘Sheesh Mahal’,” Maken added.

Ahead of June 23 meeting in Patna, the AAP had threatened to walk out of meeting if Congress didn’t clear its stand on Centre’s ordinance row.

Even during the meeting in Patna, Kejriwal demanded Congress to clear its stand on ordinance. However, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that the issue of ordinance will be taken up during the Parliament’s Monsoon Session when the Bill is brought in Rajya Sabha.

Following the Congress stand, AAP missed the press conference of the opposition in Patna and issued a statement saying that Congress hesitation and refusal to act as a team player on an important issue would make it very difficult for the AAP to be a part of any alliance that includes the grand-old party.

Earlier last month, the AAP has requested for appointment with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi to discuss the ordinance issue. The Congress is yet to reply.

--IANS

aks/dan