E-Paper
Arvind Kejriwal moves confidence motion in Delhi assembly amid ED summons
Leader of opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri termed CM’s poaching allegations as “baseless and absurd.”
New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday moved a confidence motion in Delhi assembly saying there was a need to show to the public that the House has confidence in the Council of Ministers amid recent -- what the chief minister said were -- attempts by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to poach AAP MLAs and topple the AAP government in Delhi.
Leader of opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri termed CM’s poaching allegations as “baseless and absurd.”
After the CM moved the motion of confidence in the House, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel said the CM’s motion will be taken up for discussion on Saturday.
Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has sought Kejriwal’s personal appearance in connection with the ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the excise policy case on Saturday. The ED on February 14 served the sixth summons for his appearance on February 19. The summons was served close on the heels of the federal agency moving court over Kejriwal not appearing for questioning despite five previous summons.
The Rouse Avenue court subsequently summoned Kejriwal on February 17, calling for his personal appearance, while observing that the AAP national convener was “legally bound” to join the ED investigation.
In the Delhi assembly, Kejriwal stated that the BJP recently attempted to poach AAP MLAs. “Some days ago, two MLAs (AAP) separately came to me and told me the same thing. They said that the BJP leaders had come to them and inform that CM Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested soon; they said that they have already contacted 21 AAP MLAs and (claimed that) they are ready to leave AAP; they are trying to contact others (AAP MLAs) as well,” he said.
Kejriwal alleged that the BJP leaders said they will give ₹25 crore to each of the AAP MLAs and asked them to join the BJP. “They promised that the BJP will field them in election (assembly) on BJP ticket. And if you want anything else, let us know. The MLAs told me that they refused the offer. Then we contacted our MLAs and found that the BJP had contacted seven MLAs. They have attempted to conduct one more Operation Lotus. But all 21 MLAs have refused according to what we have learned,” Kejriwal said in the House.
Also Read: ED calls Kejriwal for sixth time on February 19 in excise case
“The so-called liquor scam is not a liquor scam; they do not want to conduct any investigation. We see that in other states they are toppling one after another government on the basis of false cases, their intention is to arrest.. they have arrested several AAP leaders... and topple the Delhi government. They know that they cannot win the assembly election in Delhi, so they want to topple the government and form their own government. Due to God grace and people’s faith, their attempts could not fructify,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal moved the motion stating that the House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers and said it was necessary to show to the people that not a single of AAP MLA could be poached.
The BJP has termed Kejriwal’s allegations as “absurd and baseless”. On January 30, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, Bidhuri and northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari submitted a complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora seeking an investigation into the CM’s claims.
On February 3, the allegations and counters intensified the ongoing AAP-BJP political row after a crime branch team arrived at the CM’s residence to hand a notice to him in connection with the allegations.
The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly whereas the BJP has eight. On multiple occasions since 2013 after the AAP won 28 assembly seats in Delhi, the party has alleged that the BJP has contacted AAP MLAs to poach them.
Bidhuri said Kejriwal had to move a confidence motion in Delhi assembly despite having 62 out of the 70 MLAs because he has lost confidence.
“A discussion on the confidence motion has been scheduled on Saturday when the Rouse Avenue Court has summoned Kejriwal (on February 17) over skipping ED summons in liquor scam. The sitting of the House was not fixed for February 17 according to the earlier schedule. The CM has got a discussion on confidence motion scheduled on Friday so that he can use this as an excuse to avoid appearance before the court,” Bidhuri said.
The ED wants to question the Delhi chief minister in connection with an alleged money laundering probe linked to ongoing investigations into the excise policy case. Kejriwal has skipped four ED summons, calling them illegal and politically motivated.
