BackArvind Kejriwal urges President not to invite BJP to form govt in Delhi
AAP chief says inviting BJP to form government in Delhi will be 'murder of democracy'
Premium
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday sought President Pranab Mukherjee’s intervention in not allowing Lt Governor Najeeb Jung to invite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form a government in Delhi and demanded immediate dissolution of the assembly.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, along with the 22 party MLAs, called on the President and submitted to him a memorandum in which the party alleged inviting BJP to form government will be “murder of democracy".
“We met the President and told him that our party (AAP) wants elections. We are not in a position to form government and we will not support anyone. Congress has also made it clear that they will not support anyone. In such a scenario, how can BJP form government when they don’t have the required numbers?" Kejriwal told reporters.
Attacking Jung for seeking the President’s permission to invite the BJP to form government, the former Delhi chief minister said “if the BJP is invited, it will be a murder of the democracy. It will be unconstitutional". “They can form government only by buying MLAs and by indulging in horse-trading," he said.
The AAP leader wondered why such a move of calling the BJP to take a shot at power is being initiated when the party had after assembly elections in December last year refused to form government citing lack of numbers when it was invited.
“Harsh Vardhan had then given it in writing to the LG that they cannot form government. Then again when I resigned in February, the BJP reiterated its stand that they cannot form government. They have not yet withdrawn their letter to the LG. There has been no official communication between the BJP and the LG since then," Kejriwal said.
“Neither the BJP has given it in writing that they have the numbers nor have they gone to him to stake claim to form government. In such a situation, when the BJP’s stand is still the same, how is the LG taking initiative to invite BJP to form government?" he asked. Kejriwal said that according to rules, before inviting a party to form government, it should be first asked to show letters of support by MLAs.
The Congress party also hit out at the BJP over its attempt to form a government in Delhi saying it shows the party was “scared" of fresh elections and suggested that Lt Governor Jung will only do the bidding of centre.
Party general secretary in-charge for Delhi Shakeel Ahmed at the same time remained ambivalent on the issue of fresh elections. “It shows that BJP is afraid to face the people. BJP president Amit Shah is himself conceding that there is no Narendra Modi wave now and that’s why they want to form a government in Delhi any how, without elections. BJP wants power without elections," Ahmed said.
Meanwhile, home minister Rajnath Singh said a call on forming the government in Delhi will be taken once formal proposal is received from the Lt Governor even as he dismissed any attempt to poach MLAs of other parties.
The home minister who was in Jammu and Kashmir to assess the flood situation, said Delhi Lt Governor is free to call any party for government formation and the BJP is the single largest party. “If invited we will think about it. BJP does not believe in horse-trading. BJP will never favour a government with horse-trading," Singh said. PTI
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
