New Delhi: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday ruled out giving any support to BJP to form a government in Delhi and termed as personal comments in this regard by party leader Prashant Bhushan. “There is no question of supporting BJP. What Prashant said yesterday was his personal opinion,” he tweeted this morning shortly after a meeting of his party leaders which decided not to take or give support to Congress or BJP.
Bhushan had on Monday night told a TV channel that AAP may consider supporting BJP if the party gives AAP in writing that it will pass the Jan Lokpal Bill.
The noted lawyer himself clarified on Tuesday that what he had said on Monday night was in a rhetorical context. “What I said was in a rhetorical context. I meant that if BJP becomes like AAP and does those things which AAP has been formed for and AAP believes in, then we can think of supporting them. But this is not possible because these parties can never become like AAP,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
Asked about government formation, Kejriwal said as the single largest party, BJP should form the government and take support from Congress. “BJP has been given the mandate. It is the single largest party. So it should try and form the government taking support of Congress,” he said. Bhushan said the party will not stake claim to form government and prefer to sit in the opposition. “We cannot support BJP or Congress as AAP was formed as an alternative to them. People have supported us so that we can establish an alternative politics in the country,” Bhushan said.
Hectic consultations were on in both AAP and BJP two days after the Assembly elections threw up a split verdict that gave majority to none in the 70-member House.
While BJP has emerged as the single largest party having won 31 seats, its ally Akali Dal (Badal) has bagged one constituency, leaving it four MLAs short of majority mark of 36. AAP, on the other hand, has got 28 seats followed by Congress with eight.
JD-U has won one seat while the Mundka seat has gone to an Independent. BJP has also said that it will not stake claim to form government. “We have no numbers. We do not want to purchase any MLA,” former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is party in-charge for Delhi, had said on Monday.
The AAP legislators had yesterday unanimously elected Kejriwal as their leader in the Delhi Assembly.
Asked about newly elected AAP MLA from Seemapuri, Dharmendra Singh Koli, being booked on charges of molestation and rioting on a complaint by former Congress MLA Veer Singh Dhinghan, party spokesperson Manish Sisodia said the allegations were politically motivated.
Kejriwal said that his party will neither take nor extend support to anybody for government formation in Delhi after comments of Prashant Bhushan fueled speculation that the party may support BJP.
“We had a meeting yesterday (Monday) and another today. It has been decided that neither we will take support nor give,” Kejriwal told reporters.
Asked about Bhushan’s comments that AAP can give issue based support to BJP, Kejriwal said, “It is his (Bhushan’s) own opinion….He could not come for yesterday’s meeting. It has been decided in today morning’s meeting that we will neither take nor extend support to anybody.”
The AAP Convener said, “I want to tell the country that Delhi has sown a hope. It is not our fight, AAP is a small party with a small number of people. It is not the fight of AAP but the fight of common man. “I appeal to all good people, good organisations and good political forces to unite as this is a historic moment to change the country….Join us, we will move out of the way and give preference to you. There are no ego issues, we all need to come together,” he said.
He asked the “good” people in political parties to revolt against their parties if they were not happy with the policies of their organisation and were feeling chocked. “If you are not satisfied with them, then come to us,” he said.
On Congress leader Shaqeel Ahmed remarks on government formation, he said there is no question of taking their support. To a question on Congress leader V Narayanasamy’s comment that the government was sincere about passing the Lokpal Bill, he shot back, asking “which Lokpal Bill…the lame and handicapped one or the Janlokpal bill”. “You can call any bill a Lokpal Bill,” he said.
On Seemapuri MLA Dharmendra Koli who is facing charges of molestation and rioting, Kejriwal said that there were two things in this issue. “Koli and his team were taking out a ‘Vijay Yatra’ which is totally wrong. Whose Vijay Yatra they were taking out? It is neither the victory of Dharmendra Koli, nor of Arvind Kejriwal. It is the victory of the common man….Bursting crackers and dancing in front of his house was wrong. I am not in favour of this and the party has taken strong note and issued a warning to him,” he said.
He said, “The allegations leveled against him that he molested is totally wrong.” Kejriwal also said, “We will warn him and also make him understand that we are against this type of politics.” (PTI)
