Days after Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge telephoned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following CBI summons, senior leader Ajay Maken on Sunday urged party's "capable advocates" and "Steering Committee members" not to represent the AAP chief or his government in courts, saying it will send a "wrong message" to workers and "confuse" them and it will only benefit the BJP in dividing party's votes.
Maken's veiled appeal to leaders like P Chidambaram, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Salman Khurshid, who he did not name, came on a day when Kejriwal appeared before the CBI for questioning in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.
His tweet came even as Kharge on Friday evening dialled Kejriwal to express solidarity with him as well as taking forward Opposition unity ahead of Lok Sabha elections.
The content of the tweet read as an indictment of Kharge’s action with Maken saying that all leaders, including those from Congress, should understand that Kejriwal has used money gained through corruption to be used against Congress in states like Punjab, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Delhi.
However, the remarks by Maken, who himself is a Steering Committee member, exposes the uneasiness and division within the party over support for Kejriwal. On Saturday, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa had also come out against Kejriwal. In both Delhi and Punjab, Congress is in direct contest with AAP, which had drowned them in the electoral battle.
Maken said he believes that individuals like Kejriwal and his associates who face serious corruption charges should "not be shown any sympathy or support". The allegations must be thoroughly investigated and those found guilty should be punished.
"I appeal to capable advocates and senior working committee members, now steering committee members, to please refrain from representing Kejriwal or his government in court. While it is within their professional realm to represent anyone, doing so for Kejriwal's government and associates sends the wrong message to our cadres and confuses them. It ultimately benefits the BJP by dividing Congress party votes," he said.
He said AAP was founded in 2013 with the aim of fighting corruption, following the Anna Hazare movement. The party promised to enact the Lokpal bill, which was viewed by the Opposition parties as a solution to corruption in the Congress but Kejriwal dissolved his own government in February 2014, just 40 days after coming to power, demanding a strong Lokpal bill, which was later made public, he said.
Despite this in December 2015, he said Kejriwal introduced a "watered-down version" of the Lokpal Bill that differed greatly from the original bill proposed in 2014. "This exposes the true character and intentions of Kejriwal. The original bill, which formed the basis for dissolving his 40-day government, has yet to be implemented," Maken alleged.
"Since 2015, Kejriwal and his party have failed to push for a stronger Lokpal bill. Instead, they have become known for their protests, marches, and counter-allegations only seeking more power. Now that the CBI…has summoned Kejriwal, a stronger Lokpal bill instead, could have been investigated," he added.