AAP foreign funds to be probed: Shinde

Cong and BJP irked over the presence of AAP

• Probe Congress and BJP accounts, says Kejriwal
• AAP eating into vote share of both parties
• AAP will be exposed thoroughly, says Vijay Goel

New Delhi: The Aam Admi Party (AAP), which is being seen as a spoilsport by both the Congress and the BJP, is being targetted by the two principal parties in the Delhi Assembly elections. While Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde stated on Monday that his Ministry has received complaints about the foreign funding of AAP and is probing the same, BJP leaders have emulated the style of functioning of the AAP by focusing on every single constituency.

The Congress and the BJP are irked over the presence of the AAP in Delhi Assembly elections, as the opinion polls have showed that Arvind Kejriwal’s party is eating into the vote share of both the parties. While the Congress is losing 29 per cent of its vote share, the BJP is losing 30 per cent. Interestingly, as per the polls, in 2008, the level of dissatisfaction with the Delhi Government was at 28 per cent, but now it is 53 per cent. The BJP cannot take full advantage of the anti-incumbency due to the presence of AAP.

It was Arvind Kejriwal, who had first declared that he would contest from the Gole Market Assembly constituency of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, but now former Delhi BJP President Vijendra Gupta has also decided to contest from the same seat, spoiling the chances of AAP supremo. The BJP is in no mood to give any credit to AAP, the reason why more than the Congress, the AAP considers BJP as its main rival.

On Monday, as soon as the word spread that the Union Home Ministry was investigating the source of foreign funding of the AAP, Kejriwal welcomed the probe, but wanted that it should also investigate the funding of the Congress and the BJP.

AAP, which was earlier seen as a formidable force by the Congress and the BJP, is now being seen to be on a weak wicket, as in the recent past, it, too, has indulged in the same practice of wooing the voters, as any other party.

Kejriwal recently met controversial Muslim cleric Tauqeer Raza Khan, who was behind issuing the fatwa against Taslima Nasreen. Besides, the AAP supremo was accused of giving tickets to corrupt people that showed Kejriwal as no better than the two political parties.

Exuding confidence, Delhi BJP President Vijay Goel told The Hans India that the AAP, in the near future, will be exposed thoroughly, as it has no programme or policy to showcase before the Delhites. “Just by criticising the ruling party and the Opposition, one cannot come to power. They have to project their own future policies and programmes,” he remarked. Goel said that though the BJP is not in power for the last 15 years in Delhi, the people have seen their tenure earlier and are seeing the development activities in other BJP-ruled States that include Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The AAP, on the contrary, is only indulging in blamegame.

Interestingly, the BJP has been smart enough to emulate the AAP, with its leaders going on air, unravelling their plans to solve the traffic jams, water-logging and building of infrastructure in each constituency. BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Malhotra’s son, Ajay Kumar Malhotra, is contesting from the prestigious Greater Kailash Assembly constituency and has come out with his own agenda of exposing the Congress.