Kejriwal ‘poster boy of corruption’, says BJP’s Tejasvi Surya

PTI, May 12, 2024, 7:18 PM IST

Credit: PTI

New Delhi: BJP leader Tejasvi Surya on Sunday called Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal the “poster boy of corruption”, saying he has no moral right to comment on graft or transparency.

The Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha chief was taking part in a roadshow for the BJP’s Chandni Chowk candidate Praveen Khandelwal.

“Do you really think Kejriwal has any credibility left? He has made many u-turns in his political life. Many young people like us participated in the 2013 Anna Hazare movement, thinking it to be a non-political campaign against corruption,” the Bangalore South MP said.

“Starting from there to now, Kejriwal has cheated everyone who believed in the idea he presented. He is in an alliance with people he had openly criticised such as Lalu Yadav, Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray,” he added.

Kejriwal, who reached out to the people with the promise of transparency and clean governance, is now in jail facing severe charges, alleged Surya, who was renominated by the BJP from Bangalore South.

The Delhi chief minister and AAP chief, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam, was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on Friday.

Surya said, “If there can be a face for hypocrisy in the country, it is Kejriwal. If there can be a face for u-turns and unethical politics, it can be Kejriwal. People of the country have seen through these double standards. On June 4, the BJP will register a resounding victory in all seven seats of Delhi.” The BJP leader also claimed Kerjiwal has no moral right to comment on anything even remotely connected with corruption or transparency.

He is the “poster boy of corruption” in the country, Surya said.

“I have been a lawyer and practised in civil and criminal courts. In my entire experience as a practising lawyer, I have never seen any court giving a bail order with an expiry date attached to it,” he said.

“A bail order is granted with conditions that one has to cooperate with the investigation. There is no date mentioned in any bail order in which the accused is asked to surrender again,” he added.

This is not even a full bail order. So, even the Supreme Court, prima facie, is convinced of Kejriwal’s complicity in corruption, the BJP leader claimed.

Polling for Delhi’s seven seats will be held in the sixth phase of the seven-phase elections on May 25.