A day before the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, Uday Jhakhar, son of Aam Aadmi Party's (AAP) candidate from West Delhi Balbir Singh Jhakhar had alleged that his father paid Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and political affairs committee member Gopal Rai Rs 6 crore to contest Lok Sabha polls.
However, denying the charge, Balbir Singh Jakhar while addressing media persons said that his son has never stayed with him and he was lying. Asserting the move might be "politically motivated, he said "I had divorced my wife in 2009 after staying with her for only six to seven months. Uday Jakhar stays at his maternal parents' home from the time of his birth. His custody was granted to my wife after the divorce," said Jhakar. "All the allegations against me are baseless. I have never met or interacted with my son in the recent past. This an attempt to tarnish my image just before the polls," he tweeted.
Earlier the day, addressing the media, Uday Jakhar alleged his father had joined politics three months ago in January. "My father told me that he was receiving a ticket from AAP for which he would give Rs 6 crore to Kejriwal and Rai," Uday Jakhar said. Uday claimed he had "credible evidence" to support his allegations and that he had chosen to come out with the information because of his "conscience".
"An amateur politician getting a ticket was surprising at first, I brought it upon my conscience to question this. When I asked my father for assistance to pay for my education, he was unable to do so. He resisted and said he was going to use the money for his own political benefit," he claimed.
Meanwhile, citing "violation" of model code of conduct Delhi Police intervened to stop a press conference, but he went ahead with it after which the police informed the Election Commission. According to a senior police official, they came to know about the press conference following which they went to the premises to caution AAP functionaries that they cannot hold a press conference during the 48-hour silence period prior to polling as it is a violation of the model code of conduct. The senior police officer said they have informed the Election Commission (EC) about the developments.
Asserting that there was no violation of the code of conduct, the party said it had covered its symbol and had made no appeal to vote but just gave a clarification. The AAP also contended that the police should have brought an official order from the EC that the press conference cannot take place.