No question of compromising on corruption: Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Making it clear that there will be no compromise on corruption, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said anyone embroiled in corrupt practices will not be spared be it Sheila Dikshit, any Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member or even his own party member.

Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is ruling Delhi with the outside support of eight Congress Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs), said, “BJP leader Harsh Vardhan has asked me to take action against Sheila Dikshit. I asked him to provide evidence and I would take action.”

“We will not spare anyone involved in corruption. There is no question of compromising with corruption. I will put my entire life on stake to fight it, whether it is Sheila Dikshit, any other minister, any bureaucrat, BJP or Congress member or even any of my own party member,” he told reporters before his party’s national executive meeting.

Kejriwal said his government is overhauling the state vigilance department which was lying in the dumps and made “non-existent” by the previous government.

“Out of 30 inspectors only 11 are posted. There are vacancies at every level involving ACP, DCP and SI posts. The department needs overhauling, we are trying to strengthen the department and identifying the honest officers,” he said.

Kejriwal charged that the cases raised by the anti-corruption department or the State Vigilance Commission were never taken up and brushed under the carpet.

On the Commonwealth Games (CWG) scam, the chief minister said, “In November 2010, I had prepared a 370-page report on CWG scam which contains evidence on corrupt practices during the games. It doesn’t mention any names. The report was based on newspaper reports.”

He said he is working towards launching a helpline to register corruption-related complaints and will ensure swift action on the complaints received. Kejriwal said his party will contest the maximum number of seats in Lok Sabha polls, but he will not contest the general elections. PTI