BJP set to prime anti-graft agenda as election plank
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, March 1
Powered by the resignations of top Delhi ministers over corruption charges, the BJP is set to prime its anti-graft agenda as the top poll plank ahead of the pending the six state elections in 2023 followed by the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The 18th General Election would be crucial for the ruling BJP as PM Narendra Modi seeks a consecutive third term, a feat previously achieved only by the late Jawaharlal Nehru. Buoyed by setbacks to AAP, the BJP on Wednesday demanded the resignation of top Opposition leader and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, saying he occupied a constitutional post and could destroy evidence if he continued in office.
“Pawns have gone but what about the kingpin who ordered the Delhi excise policy implementation? When will CM Kejriwal resign to enable a fair probe, considering his own PA allegedly destroyed four mobile phones in the past,” asked BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia.
Seeking Kejriwal’s ouster, the party pointed out: “The CM chaired the February 5, 2021, Cabinet meeting which decided to institute a group of ministers (GoM) consisting of Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gahlot to examine the expert committee report on the Delhi excise policy and make recommendations, and when the GoM presented its report (which allegedly favoured the South lobby in lieu of Rs 100 crore kickbacks to AAP) on March 22, 2021, it was Kejriwal who ordered its implementation.
“The needle of suspicion points to the CM,” Bhatia stressed. For the BJP, the Supreme Court’s denial of relief to Sisodia and his subsequent resignation has boosted the party’s resolve to hammer corruption at the hustings. While PM Modi has routinely questioned public glorification of the corrupt, President Droupadi Murmu, in her address to Parliament on January 31, said: “Corruption is the biggest enemy of democracy and social justice.”
The BJP now plans to make corruption a campaign agenda in election-bound states where either top Opposition politicians or their kin and friends are under the scanner of probe agencies.
June 2022: CBI registered a case against Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s brother Agrasen Gehlot and 14 others for alleged diversion of subsidised fertilizers meant for farmers
Feb 2023: ED searched multiple Chhattisgarh locations linked to CM Bhupesh Baghel’s aides including MLA Devendra Yadav and party treasurer Ramgopal Agarwal over alleged benefits of proceeds in coal levy scam.
Sept 2019: ED arrested Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar for alleged money laundering. He got bail from high court. In May 2022, ED filed a prosecution complaint alleging exponential rise in Shivakumar’s wealth from 2014 to 2018.
Dec 2022: CBI questioned Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha over alleged involvement in the now scrapped Delhi excise policy.
