PTI
NEW DELHI, March 11
A STING operation on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by one of his own partymen is the latest blow to the Aam Aadmi Party, which is known for using sting operations on other political parties and asking people to sting those indulging in wrongdoing.Recorded in July, a time when AAP was fighting a case in the Supreme Court seeking fresh elections in Delhi, the audio clip that surfaced on Wednesday relates to purported conversations between Kejriwal and former AAP MLA Rajesh Garg. In one of the conversations, Kejriwal urges the former Rohini legislator to try and “separate” six Congress MLAs, ask them to form their own party and to support the AAP from the outside.
Garg, who did not contest the 2015 assembly elections, told The Indian Express that he had not recorded Kejriwal “specially, but every conversation is recorded on his phone through an app”.
The recording has added another element to the raging battle in the AAP leadership over the past fortnight, which has seen senior leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav on one side, and Kejriwal and his supporters on the other.
Ironically, those who have targeted Yadav and Bhushan also used a sting recording containing a conversation between a journalist and Bibhav Kumar, a Kejriwal aide, as evidence of Yadav “planting stories” against the AAP national convener.
Watch the India TV sting
In their response to allegations made by four senior AAP members on Tuesday, Bhushan and Yadav in a joint letter also raised the point of Kejriwal attempting to form government with the Congress again, immediately after the Lok Sabha defeat, leading to disagreement from the two senior leaders.
In one of the conversations with Garg, Kejriwal purportedly says that “Manish” — an apparent reference to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia — was in touch with Congress MLAs, but they were not agreeing to join hands with AAP, and that no announcement should be made until the “other side agrees”.
In what appeared to be another conversation, Garg tells Kejriwal that while all eight MLAs, including Arvinder Singh Lovely and Haroon Yusuf, were willing to join hands with AAP again, the AICC was against it, worried about the Congress’s fate in states like Haryana. It is then that Kejriwal responds, “I tell you, start to try and separate six. Six people separate, make their own party, and support us from the outside… If these six people break… they were going to the BJP, but they couldn’t go to the BJP because there are three Muslims…They couldn’t go so they could support us from outside.”
Garg told The Indian Express that he “recorded all conversations on his phone through an app, just like journalists do”.
“This recording was made in July when we had asked for dissolution of the assembly. I was in support of backing the Congress and often spoke contest elections,” Bhushan had said in the letter.
“We are ready (to take Congress’ support) but they are not ready to listen. Manish (Sisodia) and others are in touch,” Kejriwal purportedly says in the clip.
Garg is also purportedly heard as telling Kejriwal that all eight MLAs were ready to support the AAP, but Congress’ chief ministerial candidate Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala were not ready to do so, saying this will hurt their party’s prospects in Haryana.
“These people are not able to take a final decision because they (Maken and Surjewala) are meddling in it. They have been saying this several times,” Kejriwal purportedly said.
Garg is also heard suggesting that in the party should appeal in mohalla sabhas, that it was ready to take support of (the Congress) if it wanted to extend it.
“Don’t say that…I am trying to say that let’s say that we are not taking anyone’s support. If they (the Congress) are ready, then we are ready. If we say (that we are ready to take Congress support) then we will sound desperate,” Kejriwal said.
Reacting to Garg’s claim that he had emailed the conversation to him, Vishwas said, “In the fight for truth, there have been several testing instances since last four years, but (we) sailed through it. The truth will prevail in the end.”
Another party leader and PAC member Gopal Rai said the facts will be put before the right party forum and a decision will be taken on this.
“All the facts will be put before the Political Affairs Committee, which will decide on the issue,” he said.
