AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday claimed the BJP had offered to spare Ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain, who are being investigated by Central agencies, if his party withdrew from the Gujarat polls. At the same time, Kejriwal asserted that the Congress will get less than five seats in Gujarat.
Speaking at a media conclave in the national Capital, Kejriwal alleged the BJP had reached out to his deputy Sisodia, persuading and luring him to join the BJP. “After Manish Sisodia rejected their offer to be Delhi Chief Minister by leaving the AAP, they have approached me now... they have said if you leave Gujarat and don’t contest there, we will spare both Jain and Sisodia and drop all charges against them,” he alleged.
When asked to name who made the offer, Kejriwal said, “How can I name one of my own... the offer has come through them. They (BJP) never approach directly. They go from one to another, to another, to another, to a friend, and then the message reaches you.” He said the BJP was doing all this as it was scared of losing Gujarat and MCD.
Sisodia and Jain are under investigation by Central agencies. While Sisodia is an accused in the Delhi Excise Policy case, Jain is accused in a money laundering case.
Both are under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED). Earlier, the AAP had claimed that the BJP had offered Sisodia the CM post and the suppression of all cases against him if he joined the BJP.
Mocking the Congress, Kejriwal said that nobody took the grand old party seriously. “The people of Gujarat need change. If people did not want change, we would not have got any space. We are getting a 30 per cent vote share. We formed a government in Punjab. There is something different in Gujarat as well,” he said.
“In Gujarat, the Congress will win less than 5 seats. We are number two,” Kejriwal said and asked who takes Congress seriously. He, however, did not predict BJP’s tally.
Kejriwal on Saturday took out two roadshows in Gandhidham and Anjar in Gujarat where he appealed to give just one chance to the AAP.
Kejriwal again reiterated his commitment that from March 1 onwards, “you won’t need to pay your electricity bills; AAP government will take care of it”. He also promised that be it a crocin or a cancer treatment, everyone’s healthcare will be free.
The AAP contesting Gujarat elections has made it a tri-cornered contest. While retaining PM Modi’s home State Gujarat is an issue of prestige for the BJP, the Congress could suffer a body blow if the AAP outshines it.