🦄A fresh political drama unfolded in Delhi a day before the poll results as Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena on Friday ordered an anti-corruption branch (ACB) probe into allegations by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders that the BJP attempted to poach its candidates, officials said.
👍"Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been making allegations that the BJP is offering bribes to its MLAs to quit the party and join the BJP. The lieutenant governor has directed that this matter merits a thorough investigation through the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) to establish the truth," the LG office said in a letter to the chief secretary, as per PTI.
🍒Meanwhile, the ACB team has reached AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal's residence to carry forward its probe.
The direction to the chief secretary came in response to a representation by Delhi BJP general secretary Vishnu Mittal to the LG's office. "The allegations levelled by Arvind Kejriwal 🀅and Sanjay Singh are very serious and call for an immediate investigation, as they have not furnished any proof or evidence to substantiate their claims — such as details of phone calls or the individuals involved," Mittal said in his letter to the LG.
🍌 "I request you to direct the Anti-Corruption Bureau or any other investigating agency to register an FIR and conduct a detailed probe regarding the alleged offer of Rs 15 crore to seven sitting AAP MLAs," he added.
♛Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday accused the BJP of attempting to poach his party candidates. The BJP however refuted the allegation and threatened legal action.
Taking it to X, Kejriwal on Thursday claimed that 16 AAP candidates had received offers from the BJP ꦫwith the promise of ministerial positions and rupees 15 crore each if they switched sides.
🐈"Some agencies are showing that the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 55 seats. In the last two hours, 16 of our candidates have received calls that if they leave the AAP and join their party, they will be made ministers and given Rs 15 crore each," Kejriwal said in his post in Hindi on the microblogging platform.
🌞On Thursday, AAP leader Sanjay Singh leveled the poaching allegations at a press conference, claiming that seven party MLAs had received calls or were approached in person with offers from BJP leaders.
"This clearly shows that the BJP has accepted its defeat even before the results and is now resorting to such tactics," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
🌺Singh, however, maintained that the AAP has advised its candidates to record such calls and use spy cameras to document what transpires in any face-to-face meeting regarding poaching attempts.
♕Chief Minister Atishi also weighed in on the issue.
💦"If the abusive party (BJP) is getting more than 50 seats, then why are they trying to break our candidates by contacting them?" she asked in a post on X.
ꦰRejecting the allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva termed this a sign of the AAP's "frustration" over an impending electoral defeat.
♏"Sanjay Singh should either retract his allegations and tender an apology or face legal action," Sachdeva said in a statement. "He should not forget that his party leader, (former) Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, is already facing a defamation case for making similar false allegations."
