The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday said it was taking “very seriously” the allegations of horse trading levelled against the party by Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
On Thursday, Kejriwal claimed that 16 AAP candidates had received calls offering them ministerial berths and Rs 15 crore each if they left the party and joined the BJP.
“We are taking the allegations of horse trading seriously and the party has filed a complaint about it. What is the basis of these allegations? BJP will not tolerate it,” said BJP MP Manoj Tiwari, speaking to ANI.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh spoke to reporters on Friday outside the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) office saying he has come to file a complaint against BJP.
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“I have come here to file a complaint with our lawyer. BJP is indulging in horse trading and they have offered Rs 15 crore each to our MLAs and ministers. I am here at the ACB office to file a complaint against BJP,” Singh said.
Sources within ACB said Singh has registered a written complaint.
Following the allegations, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena ordered a probe into the claims made by Kejriwal. The L-G’s Principal Secretary wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary to conduct an ACB inquiry into the matter.
A five-member team of the ACB visited Kejriwal’s residence on Friday following L-G’s actions along with AAP’s legal team.
However, Kejriwal’s lawyer claimed that the ACB officials reached Kejriwal’s residence without any official document.
“For entering anybody’s residence for investigation or search, the concerned agency must have written orders to do so. Entering someone’s property without legal orders is unlawful and is considered trespassing,” said Kejriwal’s lawyer Rishikesh Sharma.
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“They were carrying stationary items in that yellow envelope. They were asked to reach Arvind Kejriwal’s residence and they just reached here without any official documents. Investigative agencies have been reduced to a joke,” he said.
Backing Kejriwal’s claim of poaching, AAP candidate from Sultanpur Majra assembly constituency, Mukesh Ahlawat shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp audio call. The screenshot showed a phone number and Ahlawat claimed that the caller said their party was going to win and that if Ahlawat switched sides, he would be made minister and given Rs 15 crore.
“I got a call from this number. He said that their government is being formed, he will make me a minister and will also give me 15 crores,” Ahlawat claimed in a post on X.
“I want to tell them that with the respect that Kejriwal Ji and the AAP party have given me, I will never leave my party till my death,” he added.
