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ACB may take legal action against Arvind Kejriwal, AAP leaders over poaching claims made before Delhi poll results
Arvind Kejriwal accused BJP of trying to lure AAP candidates with ₹15 crore each before Delhi poll results, a claim the BJP has strongly denied.
The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Delhi is expected to take legal action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, Mukesh Ahlawat, and Sanjay Singh, in the coming days. This follows the party leaders' failure to respond to the ACB's notice regarding allegations that the BJP attempted to poach AAP MLAs, a claim they made just before the Delhi assembly poll results were announced.
According to the sources quoted by ANI, if AAP does not respond, the ACB may write to the Delhi Police, requesting legal action against Kejriwal, Ahlawat, and Singh.
ACB's notice to AAP leaders
On February 7, the ACB had issued a notice to AAP leader Mukesh Ahlawat over allegations that the BJP was attempting to lure AAP legislators. A separate notice was also sent to AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear for an inquiry into the alleged bribery attempts involving party MLAs.
The notice, considered a serious matter, prompted the ACB to act swiftly to verify the claims. Kejriwal was asked to provide details regarding the 16 AAP MLAs who were allegedly offered bribes, the content of their tweets on the matter, and the identities of those who made the alleged offers.
Additionally, the ACB requested any supporting evidence related to the bribery claims, including statements made by Kejriwal and other party members on social media.
Kejriwal's allegations against BJP
Arvind Kejriwal accused BJP of attempting to lure AAP candidates by offering them ₹15 crore each, a claim the BJP has strongly denied.
He said, "Some agencies are showing that the 'Gali Galoch party' (Referring to the BJP) is getting more than 55 seats. In the last two hours, 16 of our candidates have received calls that if they leave AAP and join their party, they will make them ministers and will give ₹15 crores to each of them."
Questioning the alleged poaching attempts, he added, “If his party is getting more than 55 seats then what is the need for him to call our candidates? Obviously, these fake surveys have been conducted with the sole purpose of creating this atmosphere to break down some candidates. But you abusive people, not even one of our men will break down.”
These allegations came just two days before the counting of votes for the Delhi assembly elections on February 6.
(With ANI inputs)
