Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh has demanded a high-level probe by a central investigative agency into the serious charges of drug abuse, corruption and international crimes against Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders of his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).The Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president also urged the Election Commission to take note of the allegations against AAP and its leader, and bar them from contesting the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls. Captain Amarinder was reacting to the latest controversy to hit AAP in the form of grave allegations leveled against party leaders, including Kejriwal, while pointing to the complete disillusionment of the AAP leaders and workers against Kejriwal’s leadership not just in Punjab but also in other states, including Goa, which is also headed for polls. On Wednesday, 35 AAP workers, led by party zonal incharge, Zira, issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Kejriwal to release details of funds collected in Punjab, with expenditure. Alleging that 59 of the candidates so far given tickets by the party for the Punjab polls were tainted, they demanded replacement of the candidates, while also seeking withdrawal from Punjab of the Delhi team led by Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak.Taking serious note of these allegations, Captain Amarinder said it was clear that the mess in AAP was deep-rooted, with Kejriwal himself an integral part of it. Such elements, he said, could not be allowed to vitiate the poll atmosphere in Punjab.
Captain Amarinder also referred to the open letter to Kejriwal by Virendra Singh Parihar, AAP coordinator NRI Wing and Fund-Raising (Hoshiarpur), who said a whopping Rs. 200 crore had been collected in Punjab, mostly in the form of illicit cash, with Rs. 2 crore taken per constituency by the party leaders.Accusing Kejriwal of making false promises to the people of Punjab, Parihar said it was ironic that he was promising to make the state drug-free in a month while the observers he had sent to Punjab were opium addicts and alcoholics. He also accused Kejriwal of committing international crimes by illegally bringing in millions of dollars collected from USA, Canada and other countries.Allegations of such nature against Kejriwal are not new, said Captain Amarinder, pointing out that as a serving government officer, he had been running an NGO in Delhi and receiving foreign funds directly from Ford Foundation in the US, which, in turn, is funded by the CIA. And these funds were being received by his NGO without being routed through the Government of India, said the PPCC president.The latest exposé, coming on the heels of Kejriwal’s tall claims of making Punjab drug-free in a month of coming to power in the state, shows the depth of AAP’s moral and ethical degradation, said Captain Amarinder.If all these allegations, including Parihar’s drug charges, which he claims to substantiate with videos, pictures etc, are true, then the matter requires a thorough and independent probe, said Captain Amarinder Singh.
The Punjab Congress president pointed out that AAP had been embroiled in corruption and sex scandals over the past few months, with two party leaders having recently alleged that bribe was demanded from them in return for tickets to contest the polls.Vinod Kumar from Boha had accused AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak of demanding Rs. 1 crore from him, saying that there were people ready to give Rs 2 crore also – a fact now endorsed by Parihar’s charges, said Captain Amarinder.Another AAP leader from Dharamkot, Ranjot Singh Sran, had also made similar allegations against the AAP leadership, Captain Amarinder pointed out, adding that there seemed now to be no doubt that the entire AAP electoral objective in Punjab was to make money, with AAP leaders also demanding sex from women ticket aspirants.Captain Amarinder also referred to complaints against AAP leadership coming from party leaders and workers in other state units, in particular allegations made by the party’s Goa state women’s coordinator, Ashma Sayyed, who quit the party three days ago describing it as a massive fraud.Kejriwal has in recent weeks also become the butt of trolls on Twitter as a result of his false statements and allegations, said Captain Amarinder, citing series of unsubstantiated tweets made by the AAP leader in the last few days.Instead of wasting his time making false accusations against others, Kejriwal should put his own house in order and stop trying to cheat and mislead the people of Punjab with his false statements and claims, said Captain Amarinder.