Chandigarh, October 29 : Amid reports that Arvind Kejrwal had spent the Delhi taxpayers’ money on holding political rallies in other states, the Punjab Congress on Saturday demanded a thorough probe into the matter.
Charging Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) with looting the people of Delhi to promote their personal interests, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) said the shocking revelation by an RTI activist that taxpayers’ money had been used to organize political rallies needed to be investigated by independent agencies. The RTI shows Kejriwal has made 23 trips to poll-bound states in the last 19 months, holding political rallies during his visits, apart from his Bengaluru trip for surgery.
This is not the first time Kejriwal has been found to be indulging in such misuse of public money to further his own interests and expand his party’s base outside Delhi, said PPCC leaders Kewal Singh Dhillon, Rana Gurjit Singh and O.P. Soni.
Having come to power on the `clean’ plank, Kejriwal and AAP have broken all records of corruption in diverting the hard-earned money of the people of Delhi to promote vested political and personal interests, the PPCC leaders pointed out.
It was revealed earlier this month that the Delhi government had spent Rs. 1.58 crore to advertise online, and on the social media (Facebook, YouTube, Google), to reach out to 1.8 crore voters in various states. A media report said the contract was handed over to a PR agency without open bidding and that a private complaint had been sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Referring to the report, the PPCC leaders said it was evident that AAP was indulging in blatant misuse of its powers for its own benefits.
In September 2016, a committee appointed by the central government found the AAP government in Delhi guilty of splurging exchequer’s money on advertisements projecting Kejriwal, in violation of Supreme Court guidelines. In another instance, CAG had also found Kejriwal guilty of spending Rs. 28 crore on advertisements outside Delhi.
There are examples galore to prove that AAP, headed by Kejriwal, has been robbing Delhi of its taxpayers’ money, the PPCC leaders pointed out, demanding stringent action against them.
While Delhites are suffering total neglect on all fronts, the ruling party of the state is going around making the most of its term by drawing money from the state exchequer to fund its political activities outside Delhi, said the PPCC leaders.
Having drained the national capital of its resources, AAP is now eyeing Punjab to take forward its nefarious designs, they said, adding that the people of Punjab will not allow Kejriwal to succeed in his shameless venture.