Former RlD leader Anuradha Chaudhary and ex-AAP member Aizaz Qamar Khan, on Sunday, joined the BJP ahead of Delhi Assembly elections. Chaudhary and Khan joined the BJP in the presence of State unit chief Satish Upadhyay and Union Minister Harsh Vardhan at the party’s State headquarters.
“We welcome them to the party and I think their presence will further boost our campaign in Delhi and Khan’s presence also validates the ideology of the party towards people,” Vardhan said. Chaudhary, when asked why she has been switching parties, said, “I had an ideological difference with RlD chief Ajit Singh so I left his party. And, moreover, I am impressed with the working style and policies of our Prime Minister, especially the ‘Beti Bachao’ campaign and ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’.” Chaudhary has earlier served twice as Cabinet Minister in the UP Government.
Upadhyay, meanwhile, accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of “spreading lies” and said that “this election would be about lies versus the truth.” He said that the Election Commission had sent him a notice and “expressed its displeasure” over some of his utterances related to election campaigns.
“Kejriwal had said that the BJP was trying to communalise areas like Nagloi, Bawana. He (Kejriwal) had also resorted to personal attacks... And, I must tell you that the EC has taken cognisance of such remarks and called it a complete violation of the Model Code of Conduct. It (EC) has censured him and expressed its displeasure over such utterances and asked him not to do so in future,” he said.
The EC on Saturday issued him a fresh show-cause notice for his repeated alleged statements that while people should accept bribe from the BJP and the Congress, they should vote for the AAP. Referring to Kejriwal’s comment, he said, “This was a great disrespect to the sentiments of the common voters. He is creating confusion and illusion among the voters and the media and he should stop it. And, I say he should tender a public apology,” Upadhyay alleged.
Besides the two leaders, a social worker Chandra Rekha Tiwari from Badarpur also joined the party.