Arvind Kejriwal claims BJP ‘has kept ₹800 crore’ to topple AAP govt in Delhi
The allegations and the counter-allegations between the BJP and the AAP come amid Delhi excise policy row.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday renewed his attack on the BJP as he said that the legislators of his party were being lured with offers worth over ₹20 crores. Alleging that the rival party was trying to split the AAP, Kejriwal made the comments as he was accompanied with his party's legislators at the Rajghat in Delhi.
The ruling party in the national capital on Wednesday had called for a special assembly session amid horse-trading claims. The political standoff between the two parties has been escalating further everyday with each side trying to level up the allegations.
Hours after he had called for a key meeting, Arvind Kejriwal reached the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi on Thursday along with party MLAs. He said he was "lucky" to have a colleague like Manish Sisodia who "refused the BJP's offer to become the chief minister". On Monday, the Delhi deputy chief minister - at the centre of excise policy row and the CBI probe that has been launched - had made an explosive claim that the BJP had reached out to him to split the party.
"I am very happy that not even a single MLA has accepted their offer. Delhi, I want to tell you that you have voted for an honest party, we will die but will never betray the people of the country. The BJP needs 40 MLAs to topple my government, it has kept ₹800 crore for this," Arvind Kejriwal further claimed, speaking to reporters, news agency PTI reported.
On Wednesday, AAP legislators Somnath Bharti, Sanjeev Jha, Ajay Dutt, and Kuldeep Kumar, along with party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, had also claimed they had refused to accept the offer of the BJP, which was accused of threatening them with “fake cases like in the case of the deputy chief minister". No evidence, however was shared by the AAP leaders.
Meanwhile, the BJP has been giving rebuttals to every AAP claim in the ongoing showdown. It also rejected the latest horse-trading jibes.
(With inputs from PTI)