NEW DELHI, Jan 31: Targeting Rahul Gandhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today accused him of being corrupt and said the party will field candidates against him, UPA ministers and leaders of other parties.
He also took a jibe at BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and the Congress Vice-President for spending over “Rs 500 crore on branding” and image-building exercise.
Drawing up a list of “corrupt” politicians, Kejriwal said the party will field candidates against them.
The list included Gandhi, several UPA ministers, SP supremo Mulayam Singh, BSP chief Mayawati, Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, among others.
Addressing the National Council meeting attended by Aam Aadmi Party volunteers from across the country, Kejriwal said, “I have prepared a list of dishonest (politicians) of the country. If you come across any honest politician in the list then please tell me.
“I am asking for the country’s approval on whether to defeat (these politicians) or send them to the Parliament.”
Kejriwal said the party will field candidates against Gandhi, Union Ministers Shinde, Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, G K Vasan, Salman Khurshid, Veerappa Moily, Prakash Jaiswal, Kamal Nath, Pawan Bansal, as well as MPs Naveen Jindal, Avtar Singh Bhadana, Anu Tandon, Suresh Kalmadi and Assam CM Tarun Gogoi.
“I have started the list. Till evening, you (AAP workers) prepare a list and submit it the party,” he told AAP workers.
The Chief Minister slammed Gandhi and Modi for engaging in expensive image branding campaigns.
“They spent Rs 500 crore for image make over…To prepare brand Modi and brand Rahul, they are spending Rs 500 crore. Can these people, who spend Rs 500 crore for branding, give an honest Government? After they come to power, they will recover that money from us,” he said.
Kejriwal said the party’s motto was not to seize power, but to eradicate corruption.
“Our motto is not to seize power and do politics for power like BJP and Congress. Our motive should be no corrupt leader and no one from dynasty politics should enter Parliament,” he said.
Kejriwal said AAP candidates will also be fielded against Union Minister Farooq Abdullah, DMK MPs Alagiri, former Minister A Raja, Kanimozhi and NCP leaders and Union Ministers Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel.
Attacking BJP, Kejriwal said AAP will contest elections against BJP’s youth wing leader Anurag Thakur, former national president Nitin Gadkari, BJP national secretary Ananth Kumar and former Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa.
“We trusted these parties for 65 years and thought that they will do good to the nation, but they betrayed us. After 65 years, we have an opportunity that a common man will go inside Parliament and talk about his rights,” Kejriwal said.
AAP will also field candidates against JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and YSR Congress chief Jaganmohan Reddy, he said.
Attacking political parties for passing “lame” Lokpal bill last year, he said the bill is not even capable of “killing a rat…Finishing corruption (with the Lokpal Bill) is a far-sighted thing.”
He said he was not sure whether the Janlokpal Bill of the Delhi Government will be passed as AAP did not have numbers in the House. “We do not have majority in the House. And even if we pass the bill, it is not sure whether the Centre will approve it.”
Congratulating his Government for the work done in one month, Kejriwal claimed that corruption cases have come down drastically and that was their biggest achievement.
“What the (previous) Governments could not do in 65 years, our Government did in a month. For five years, BJP and Congress said audit (of power discoms) cannot be undertaken because of a case in the High Court. When we came to power, we gave an order of auditing these companies in five days.
“28 years have passed after the 1984 anti-Sikh riots took place and Sikh brothers have been demanding a probe. Congress and BJP only demanded a probe, but when our Government came to power, we asked LG (Lt Governor) to form a committee. On Monday, we will take a decision on this in the Cabinet,” he said. (PTI)
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