Former IAC member confronts Kejriwal, drama at press meet

High drama was witnessed at Arvind Kejriwal's press meet today when he was angrily confronted by a woman claiming to be a former IAC volunteer and sharply questioned on the contours of his anti-corruption movement.

The press conference was convened by Kejriwal to condemn the action against his supporters who clashed with police when they were prevented from barging into the residence of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in New Delhi's Pandit Pant Marg to protest on Robert Vadra-DLF issue.

Scores of activists of Kejriwal-led India Against Corruption were also detained after Police used water canons and force to disperse the protesters. Kejriwal or any other senior leaders of the group were not present at the protest.

As he fielded questions and paraded some of the injured persons before the media in Ghaziabad after bringing them from a Delhi hospital, some protesters accompanying the elderly woman Annie Kohli shouted slogans and levelled allegations against Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, saying they were using the anti-corruption movement for their own gains.

When the sloganeering continued, Kejriwal said he will talk to the detractors and understand what their grievances were. Soon after Kejriwal wound up the press meet, Kohli, who is based in Mumbai and who led the protesters, and others tried to enter the premises but were prevented by police.

Kejriwal then came out and listened to Kohli who asked him whether he was a revolutionary or a Gandhian or a politician. "You speak with lots of affection but you are doing politics. You are using this as a ladder for your politics. Revolutionaries never ran away from sufferings. But for you, when the time came, you ran away," Kohli, whom Kejriwal said he does not know, alleged.

"You were on protest with disabled people on Salman Khurshid case. First you said, you will sit there till you get result. But after four days, you left the place saying now you will go to Farukkhabad. You have support in Delhi. You want to become a leader," she said.

Kohli also accused Kejriwal of fooling the country and said he is playing with the sentiments of the people. He also distributed a pamphlet in which she raised a question what his ideology was. "The independence struggle has two streams of protests. One the revolutionary path of Bhagat Singh and another that of Mahatma Gandhi.
"Which one do you follow? Once you answer this, I will raise another nine questions," she said in the pamphlet.