Congress senior leader Rahul Gandhi (left) and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
Credit: PTI Photos
New Delhi: Days after Arvind Kejriwal said he would not respond to Rahul Gandhi's attack on him, AAP on Saturday released a poster putting the top Congress leader among a list of 11 “corrupt” people and claiming that the former Delhi Chief Minister will take on them.
Congress hit back by approaching the Election Commission claiming that the poster was in violation of the Model Code of Conduct and Representation of Peoples Act, 1951. Delhi Congress chief Devender Yadav said one should recall that “corrupt” Kejriwal was in jail while Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba dared AAP to leave I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
Besides Rahul, the poster also has images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP leaders Virendra Sachdeva, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Verma, Vijender Gupta and Ramesh Bidhuri and Congress' Ajay Maken and Sandeep Dikshit.
The poster with an image of security personnel making way for Kejriwal and his wife Sunita has a tagline, “Kejriwal's honesty will be trouble for the corrupt.”
While Congress leaders have attacked Kejriwal on the corruption front, Rahul has not referred to graft allegations against AAP though he had likened Kejriwal to Modi on “propaganda and false promises”. He had also questioned the alleged lack of development in Delhi after 2013.
Though part of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc at the national level, both Congress and AAP are fighting against each other in Delhi. Kejriwal has alleged that BJP and Congress have a secret understanding against AAP but has so far not responded directly to Rahul's claims on January 13 at a rally in Seelampur.
However, with the AAP releasing the poster on social media featuring Rahul as corrupt, the knives are fully out in Delhi, amid fears that it may impact the cohesion of the Opposition bloc at the national level.
In its letter to the EC, Congress said the allegations levelled in the poster were "baseless and without any authenticity", and aimed at maligning the reputation of the Congress leaders. "The said post is a malicious attempt for political gains," it said, seeking action against AAP.
Mahila Congress president and Congress’ Kalkaji candidate Lamba hit back at AAP and challenged Kejriwal to quit the I.N.D.I.A. bloc.
"Kejriwal is the one who gave all the 7 seats to BJP. You (Kejriwal) were begging in front of us for alliance during the Lok Sabha elections. Congress made the biggest mistake by entering into an alliance with your party for the seven seats in Delhi. Congress had to face a huge loss because of this,” she claimed.
Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The first of two state assembly polls this year sees a three-way contest between AAP, Congress, and BJP in the nation's capital. AAP decided to contest the polls alone, causing rumours of a rift in I.N.D.I.A. BJP, meanwhile, is hoping the liquor excise policy scam and pollution in Delhi will give the saffron party an edge over AAP. Kejriwal, on the other hand, has different plans with his demand for reservations for Delhi Jats. Congress will also be looking to make its presence felt and has not held back from attacking its own alliance partner. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.
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