Addressing the media at his residence on Monday evening after nine hours of interrogation by the CBI at its headquarters here in connection with the case, Sisodia said, "During questioning, I understood that this is not a case about excise policy or corruption. The case is only aimed at making 'Operation Lotus' a success in Delhi."
Sisodia also alleged that he was pressured to quit the Aam Aadmi Party and join the BJP at the agency headquarters.
"I was pressured to join the BJP. 'These cases will go on like this... They will make you CM', I was told," Sisodia said, adding that the officials even suggested that in case of a switch, he would be offered the Chief Minister's post.
The Deputy CM added, "I told them that I find joy when a rickshaw puller's son joins the IIT. Today, I understood that the CBI is not investigating any scam... the case against me is just meant to make Operation Lotus a success here," he said.
"The BJP keeps saying that there was a scam of Rs 10,000 crore, but no scam happened. Today I understood that the whole case is fake and fabricated," he added.
Refuting Sisodia's allegations, the CBI said in a statement, "Some sections of the media have aired a video in which, after leaving the CBI office, Manish Sisodia has stated on camera that during his questioning, he was threatened to leave his political party and similar such insinuations.
"The CBI strongly refutes these allegations and reiterates that the examination of Shri Sisodia was carried out in a professional and legal manner strictly as per the allegations against him in the FIR. The investigation of the case will continue as per law."
The statement also said: "Manish Sisodia was today examined by CBI in connection with the ongoing investigation into Delhi excise policy case. He was examined strictly on the allegations in the FIR and the evidence collected so far during the course of investigation. His statement will be verified in due course and further action be taken as per the requirements of the investigation."
He was earlier summoned by the National Commission for Women (NCW) for using derogatory words against women.
On Thursday, Italia was at the NCW office where a team of Delhi Police arrived and took him to the Sarita Vihar police station in South East Delhi.
As of now, the officials have not given any official statement on the status of his detention.
Further details were awaited.
Recently, two old videos of Italia had surfaced, one in which he criticises Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "neech" politics, and another in which he makes derogatory remarks against women.
A video grab of the incident, which took place on Saturday night during Kejriwal's visit to the Navratri event, showed the bottle thrown towards AAP national convener Kejriwal from behind as he walked waving at the participants.
The Delhi CM was accompanied by security officials and senior party leaders as he walked through the crowd of revellers.
AAP's media coordinator Sukanraj said, "The bottle was thrown from some distance. It passed over Kejriwal's head. It appears the bottle was thrown at Kejriwal, but we cannot say for certain that this was the case. There was no need to approach the police."
Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are on a two-day visit to Gujarat from Saturday, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state due later this year.
Mann also took part in a Garba event at another venue in the city.
The two CMs stayed in Rajkot during the night after holding rallies at Gandhidham in Kutch district and Junagadh on Saturday.
They will jointly address two rallies in Surendranagar city and Khedbrahma town of Sabarkantha on Sunday.
Amanatullah was placed under arrest by the ACB on Friday. The ACB had sought 14-day police custody of Amanatullah, but the court after hearing the arguments granted four-day custody of the AAP leader.
It has been alleged that while working as the Chairman of Delhi Waqf Board, Amanatullah illegally recruited 32 persons violating all norms and government guidelines. He has been accused of indulging in corruption and favouritism.
The then CEO of Delhi Waqf Board had issued a memorandum against such illegal recruitments.
Further, it has been alleged that as Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, Amanatullah had rented out a number of properties of the board illegally.
Amanatullah had also allegedly misappropriated the funds of Delhi Waqf Board comprising grants in aid from Delhi government.
"From the inputs received while questioning and on the basis of information collected by the Anti-Corruption Branch, four locations were searched. From these locations, Rs 24 lakh in cash and two unlicensed weapons and live cartridges were seized.
"Also, at one of the locations near the residence of Amanatullah, the search team comprising an ACP was attacked by the relatives and other known persons of the AAP leader," said Madhur Verma, Additional CP, ACB.
State party president Gopal Italia announced the list. Three tickets each have been given to Patidars and Other Backward Class, two to Dalits, one each to tribal and non-Gujarati Brahmin.
Party's farmer leader Sagar Rabari will contest from Becharaji (Mehsana district); Bhemabhai Chaudhary (Deodar constituency- Banaskantha district); Vashram Sagathiya (Rajkot Rural); Shivlal Barasia (Rajkot South); Jagmal Vala (Somnath- Gir- Somnath); Arjun Rathwa (Chhotaudepur); Ramdhaduk (Kamrej- Surat); Rajendra Solanki (Bardoli - Surat, and Omprakash Tiwari (Naroda- Ahmedabad city).
It is going to be a tough election for Sagar Rabari on the Becharaji seat because caste equations do not support the OBC candidate here. Koli Thakor community, an OBC sub caste, is influential in this constituency.
As a farmer leader too, his influence is very little in the area, the seat is dominated by Kadva-Patidars, Koli Thakor and Kshatriyas.
In the last Assembly elections, Sagathiya lost the election on the Congress symbol with a margin of just 2,000 votes, that too because of internal fighting.
Shivlal Basaria lost the corporation elections in 2021. In the past, he was one of the trustees of Khodaldham trust, and if the BJP denies ticket to the sitting MLA Govindbhai Patel on Rajkot South seat, and Leuva Patel unitedly support Shivlal then he can make the contest a triangular one.
Members of AAP from Delhi Alka Lamba and Naresh Yadav attended the rally.
Later in the day, a meeting was organised at the town hall for discussion on issues faced by farmers in the area.
Many farmer leaders from Western Odisha attended the meeting.
“Since 15 years we are fighting for the rights of the farmers of Western Odisha and issues faced by them. To raise this issue in the State we have called for a rally on October 30,” said Lingaraj, a farmer leader.
Meanwhile, the poor condition of the farmers in the area is the fault of both the State and Central governments, alleged AAP MLA Alka Lamba.
“Nowadays farmers in India are forced to commit suicide for various reasons. We are here to check the facilities that are being provided to the farmers in Western Odisha from the State and Centre,” added Alka.
https://youtu.be/J0I6nuGw_iI
BJP-SAD joint candidate Manjinder Singh Sirsa bagged 40,602 seats, over 50 per cent of the total votes polled, in a boost for the saffron party ahead of the April 23 municipal polls.
Congress' Meenakshi Chandela finished second with 25,950 votes while AAP's Harjeet Singh managed to get only 10,243 votes, less than one-sixth of the total votes polled, and lost deposit.
In terms of vote share, the Congress staged a turnaround of sorts by getting around 33 per cent of the total votes cast,in a jump of over 21 per cent over the 2015 Assembly polls.
Around 47 per cent of the over 1.6 lakh electors of the west Delhi seat had cast their vote on April 9.
With the victory, the BJP's tally in the 70-member Delhi Assembly will become four. The Congress does not have any presence in the House.
The seat fell vacant early this year after AAP's Jarnail Singh quit as MLA to contest the Punjab Assembly poll against SAD patron Parkash Singh Badal.
Addressing mediapersons, AAP Convenor Nishikant Mohapatra said, "We have brought very pin-pointed allegation as the posts were seen on the social media account of a State BJP activist. We have checked 15 to 20 social media accounts and are demanding action against the particular person responsible for the incident."
Though the Congress has not refuted the charge, BJP spokersperson Sajjan Sharma said, "The allegation of AAP is partial. They are also involved in the issue but have washed their hands off it. One among the two persons who had posted on social media in the beginning has been held, the other persons should be arrested soon and that will solve the argument on the incident."
Former Janata Dal MLA of Dharmasala (Jajpur) Guru Charan Tikayat, former BJD MLA of Gunupur (Nabarangpur) Ramamurty Mutika and former Janata Dal MLA of Bhatli (Bargarh) Kumarbar Behera formally joined the saffron party.
Besides, BJD leader and Khurda Zilla Parishad member Sangram Keshari Paikray and more than 50 leaders of BJD, Congress and Aam Admi Party (AAP) also joined the party.
These leaders were accorded warm welcome by BJP state unit president Basant Panda, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Biswabhusan Harichandan who officially announced their joining the party.
Welcoming the new party leaders, Harichandan came down heavily on BJD supremo and chief minister Naveen Patnaik.
“The chief minister is touring districts in helicopter and inaugurating projects and laying foundation stones of upcoming projects. Where the money comes from to meet his tour expenses? Construction of podiums and barricades is built with the money of the state government while government machinery including the collector, BDOs and tehsildars are engaged to make the programmes of the chief minister successful. The tour of the chief minister is to hoodwink the people of Odisha as the ruling party has begun its exercise for the ensuing panchayat polls through government machinery,” he pointed out.
Lashing out at the state government for its transparent administration, Harichandan said transparent administration does not mean that the chief minister will take up panchayat poll campaign in helicopter.
On Mahanadi issue, he said the chief minister is trying his best to fool the people of Odisha. “The chief minister is now tagging Mahanadi to all issues. Has he ever seen the Mahanadi? Does he have any love for Odisha and Mahanadi? The time has come for the chief minister to stop this farce,” he pointed out.
The BJP leader also said the chief minister, who is of late harping on Mahanadi issue, has not been able to set up a mega irrigation project in the state in the last 16 years. “The chief minister says the opposition is shedding crocodile tears. But the people of Odisha know that it is the chief minister who only sheds crocodile tears,” he noted.
The Main bhi aam aadmi campaign, which was kicked off nationally in Delhi today by AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with an aim to register more than one crore members, will continue till January 26.
“The membership drive was in progress in Odisha with a target of 1 lakh members by January 15. Since the nationwide drive started today, we revised our target to 3 lakh members by January 26,” said Nishikanta Mohapatra, State Convener, AAP, Odisha.
Addressing media persons here, the AAP leader added that the party was contemplating to field candidates in the ensuing elections.
“The success story in Delhi has proved that people are desperate for a change and they want a party like us. In the forthcoming general elections, we are planning to field candidates in all 21 Lok Sabha seats in Odisha,” he stated.
“We'll soon decide about our next course of action for Assembly election in a week's time,” Mohapatra said.
According to media reports, announcing the campaign, Kejriwal said people aspiring to join the AAP across the country could SMS on a toll-free number – 07798220033 – or give a missed call.
“The membership number will be sent via SMS,” he said, clarifying that one mobile number would record only one membership.
Apart from this, people can also enrol into the party by filling a form on AAP’s Web site.
Admitting that not every person in the country had mobile phones, Kejriwal said such people would be approached door-to-door.
"For the economically backward upper castes, the Narendra Modi government has given a welcoming 'jumla'. Such similar decisions have been passed from time to time by several states, but the courts have banned more than 50 per cent reservation. Is this also a drama?" AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.
The Union Cabinet on Monday approved 10 per cent quota for people belonging to "unreserved categories", including Christians and Muslims, in jobs and education with an annual income limit of Rs 8 lakh.
Singh said to get 10 per cent reservation passed, "it is important to amend the constitution".
The AAP MP said the Central government "should call for a special session of the parliament, or we will consider it another jumla", adding that "if only the cabinet passes this decision, the Supreme Court will ban this".
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said: "The Central government should extend Parliament session and bring constitutional amendment immediately."
He said the Centre should amend the law before the Lok Sabha elections and promise support for it.
Else, he said, it will be clear that "it is merely an election stunt".
The AAP has retained two outgoing MPs, Bhagwant Mann (Sangrur) and Sadhu Singh (Faridkot).
The names of two other AAP MPs, Dharam Vira Gandhi (Patiala) and Harinder Singh Khalsa (Fatehgarh Sahib), who were suspended from the party in 2015, do not figure in the list announced here by AAP core committee chairman Budh Ram.
The names of other candidates are Ravjot Singh (Hoshiarpur), Kuldip Singh Dhaliwal (Amritsar) and Narinder Singh Shergill (Anandpur Sahib).
The AAP won four Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in the 2014 general elections. The party could not win a single Lok Sabha seat anywhere else in the country.
There are 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab.
The AAP, which showed a lot of promise as a third alternative in Punjab, has been in disarray in the past over two years with infighting and a virtual rebellion by its leadership.
A section of the AAP leadership, led by rebel leader and legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who was recently removed as the Leader of Opposition in the Assembly by the AAP leadership, has been demanding autonomy for the AAP Punjab unit for taking political decisions for the state.
In the last 2-3 weeks, AAP leaders were trying to forge unity between the group owing allegiance to the AAP central leadership and those supporting the Khaira camp but no consensus has been reached so far.
"Every journey has an end. My association with AAP which was beautiful/revolutionary has also an end. I have resigned from the party (and) requested (it) to accept the same," he tweeted.
"It is purely from a very very personal reason. Thanks to (the) party (and those) who supported me throughout. Thanks," he added.
A former journalist, Ashutosh had expressed unhappiness over the choice of two of the three nominees to the Rajya Sabha. Once seen as close to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, he had mostly kept away from party activities since then.
The LG is also bound to send files to the President in case of differences of opinion, in exceptional matters.
The court said the LG has not been inferred with independent decision-making powers. He cannot act as an "obstructionist".
The apex court added that the LG and the Delhi government have to work harmoniously.
The LG must realise that it is the Council of Ministers, who are answerable to the people and he cannot stall every decision of the National Capital Territory (NCT) government, the bench said.
"I narrated to him the entire situation in Delhi and how IAS officers have been avoiding important government meetings during the past four months," the Aam Aadmi Party leader told the media here.
"The Home Minister has promised that he will take up the matter with Lt. Governor Anil Baijal and find a solution to the issue," he said.
Kejriwal, along with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and cabinet ministers Satyendar Jain and Gopal Rai, have been camping in Raj Niwas -- the official accommodation-cum-office of Baijal -- since Monday evening.
They have been demanding a direction to the IAS officers working in the Delhi administration to end their undeclared strike, action against officers who have struck work for "four months" and approval to his government's proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the poor.
Kejriwal has said he and his colleagues would not leave Baijal's office until their demands were met.
The court asked the Election Commission to hear the case afresh because the MLAs were not given proper hearing before the poll panel decided on their disqualification. The case was now referred back to the Election Commission for reconsideration.
The MLAs were disqualified for holding office-of-profit when they were appointed Parliamentary Secretaries.
Special Commissioner of Police Dependra Pathak told IANS that Khan surrendered at the Jamia Nagar Police Station.
"He presented himself this afternoon at the police station and he is now being handed over to the concerned North District police. He'll be questioned," Pathak said.
On Tuesday, the Chief Secretary had alleged that he was beaten up by Khan and his colleague in front of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the latter's residence on Monday midnight, where he was called for a meeting.
Earlier on Wednesday, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Harendra Kumar Singh told IANS that police were trying to track down Khan and they had been to the Okhla legislator's residence late on Tuesday night, but he was not present.
On Tuesday night, the second AAP MLA Prakash Jarwal was arrested by the police in connection with the alleged assault and, on Wednesday morning, Chief Minister Kejriwal's advisor V.K. Jain was questioned at the Civil Lines Police station in connection with the issue.
The Chief Minister's advisor was present at the time of the assault, according to Prakash's police complaint.
The allegation of the assault has triggered a political storm in the national capital. While the the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded Kejriwal's resignation, the Congress has asked for the AAP chief's apology.
The AAP hit back by stating that the Chief Secretary was making false allegations and said he was working at the "behest of the BJP".
The Home Ministry has sought a report from Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal on the issue and Home Minister Rajnath Singh said he was "deeply pained" by the development.
The the body representing bureaucrats had registered a strong protest against the alleged assault. They had worn black badges in protest on Tuesday.
They would not meet or talk over the phone to the Delhi Chief Minister or his ministers or MLAs till Kejriwal apologised for the alleged assault and took action.
On Tuesday afternoon, Delhi Environment Minister Imran Hussain was manhandled by a crowd which gathered outside the door of a lift inside the Delhi Secretariat.
Hussain's Assistant Personal Secretary was beaten up, according to multiple video clips from the Secretariat.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijender Gupta, who is also the Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly, alleged Kejriwal "in his dictatorial style" called the Chief Secretary at midnight on Monday and "berated" him in front of his MLAs, an allegation, AAP said was "ludicrous".
"Drunk on power CM (Chief Minister) was concerned about why more funds were not dispersed for advertisements. Such is the state of affairs under AAP," Gupta tweeted.
"In total, nine AAP MLAs were present at the CM's residence when the Chief Secretary was assaulted. They represent people of Delhi but are nothing short of urban naxalites. How utterly disgusting behaviour!" he said.
But Delhi government spokesperson Nagendar Sharma denied the allegation saying the Chief Secretary was making false accusation at the behest of BJP.
Sharma said during a meeting at Kejriwal's residence on the "faulty implementation" of Aadhaar that "deprived about 2.5 lakh families of ration", the Chief Secretary refused to answer questions saying he was not answerable to MLAs or the Chief Minister but only to Lt Governor Anil Baijal.
"He even used bad language against some MLAs and left without answering any questions.
"Moreover, it is false information that the meeting and the argument was about TV ads. The entire discussion was on how large number of families were not getting ration," Sharma said in a statement.
"Obviously, he (the Chief Secretary) is doing it at the BJP's behest. The BJP has stooped very low in disrupting governance in Delhi through the Lt. Governor and officers.
"If the Chief Secretary can make such wild allegations, one can imagine the kind of obstacles that are being created in AAP government's work by BJP through the officers."
The Election Commission gave its opinion to the President on a complaint by the Congress in June 2016, seeking disqualification of the AAP MLAs. Under the Constitution, the President is bound to act in accordance with the EC's recommendation.
There was no official word from the poll panel. Sources said the Commission's recommendation had been sent to President Ram Nath Kovind.
AAP Delhi convenor Gopal Rai took up to Facebook Live to justify the party's decision of electing the two outsiders -- Narain Dass Gupta and Sushil Gupta - as its candidates for Rajya Sabha seats which triggered criticism from opposition parties.
Dismissing the allegations of "buying" the candidates, he said such allegations aimed at putting down Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Rai said Sushil Gupta, a businessman and an ex-Congress politician, who runs charitable schools and hospitals in Delhi and Haryana, was picked due to "practical reasons" and N.D. Gupta for his expertise on the economy.
"We had formed government in Delhi with a dream of eliminating corruption, establishing Swaraj. But the Centre is not letting us work. They are being able to do this as Delhi is not a full state.
"The party needs a full state for bringing about the changes it desires. We tried that in Punjab. But Congress and BJP did not let us do that. The party feels that it can form government in Haryana. We have chosen him keeping our mission Haryana in mind," he said.
Earlier in the day, AAP leader Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta and chartered accountant Narain Gupta filed their nomination for the three Rajya Sabha seats that will fall vacant when the tenure of Congress members Janardhan Dwivedi, Parvez Hashmi and Karan Singh end.
It would be for the first time that the AAP, which officially has 66 members in the 70-member Delhi Assembly including some dissidents, will elect members to the upper house.
The IT official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told IANS: "The notice was served to the party after completing all assessment of its tax records."
The notice cited that the AAP had not disclosed income worth Rs 13.16 crore.
It said the party's total taxable income calculated by it was Rs 68.44 crore for the financial years 2014-15 and 2015-16.
The IT Department said the money received as donations in its bank account was not recorded in the books of accounts.
The notice said the AAP had not recorded full details of at least 461 donors who had donated Rs 6.26 crore, each donation amount exceeding Rs 20,000.
The IT Department said the AAP had not disclosed donation of Rs 36.95 crore on its web site and the party had failed to respond 34 opportunities given to it.
"The department has also initiated penalty proceedings against the AAP," the official added.
The blue colour WagonR car, registered in the name of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was being used by media coordinator Vandana Singh and was stolen from outside the Delhi Secretariat Gate No 3, a police officer said.
A First Information Report has been filed.
The car had been gifted to Kejriwal by a party supporter. The Chief Minister now uses an official car.
Addressing media persons here, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj also said that former Delhi Chief Secretary K.K. Sharma was part of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) and he had submitted a letter from the government opposing the fare hike to the committee.
"When the opinion of Delhi government is not given importance, what's the point of having a representative," Bharadwaj wondered.
The leader added that the fare was being hiked by the central government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as per their wish.
Bharadwaj said: "While the fare for travelling the first five km in Delhi Metro is Rs 10, it's only Rs 5 in Kolkata. Also, though in Delhi Metro the charge for travelling 32 km or more is Rs 50, it's only Rs 25 for 25 km or more in Kolkata Metro."
Delhi Metro fares are set to increase for a second time this year from October 10.
The last increase was in May when the minimum fare went up from Rs 8 to Rs 10 and the maximum from Rs 30 to Rs 50.
The senior PWD official told IANS that they were following orders of Lt Governor Anil Baijal, adding that 206, Rouse Avenue, which houses the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headquarters, was illegally allotted to the AAP by the Delhi government.
The officer said around 10-page notice was issued by the PWD on September 26. The AAP was allotted the said bungalow on December 31, 2015.
On April 12, the party received a communication that Baijal had cancelled the allotment of the bungalow on the ground that it was against the rules.
Challenging the Lt Governor's order, the AAP said its allotment was cancelled, but other political parties were allotted accommodations to run their respective offices in the same area.
On June 13, the PWD sent a notice to the AAP, asking the ruling party to pay Rs 27 lakh in fine for what it said was "illegally" occupying the premises.
On August 23, the Delhi High Court quashed Lt Governor's order cancelling the allotment of the bungalow.
After the luncheon meeting at the actor's Eldams Road residence, Kejriwal, with Kamal Haasan by his side, told the media that it was important that when India was battling corruption and communalism, all like-minded people should talk to each other and work in tandem.
"I am really happy to learn that a large number of people of the country are against communalism and corruption but rarely people have the courage to speak their mind," the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said.
"Kamal Haasan is a man of integrity and courage. He has the courage to stick his neck out and talk about communalism and corruption.
"A lot of people feel strongly against these things but don't come out and express," Kejriwal said. "Rather than from speaking from outside, he should enter politics and fight these forces."
The Chief Minister said they had a good discussion on these issues and the political situation in Tamil Nadu. "We will continue to discuss with each other," he said, without revealing their plans.
On his part, Kamal Haasan said it was an honour to learn that Kejriwal wanted to meet him. His residence was always politically active during his father's time though he himself had kept away from it, he said.
"You can very well guess what we would have discussed," said the actor, who has of late been making political statements. He added that whoever was fighting corruption and communalism were his relatives. "That way this relationship will continue."
He added: "The reason why we got together and the purpose is singular... Kejriwal has a national profile of fighting corruption and communalism. And whoever is fighting these forces are my relatives.
"I have a little reputation similar to that. It is no wonder that we decided to have a dialogue on the existing situation. It is a learning experience for me and a learning curve for me.
"I am on an educational tourism and asking anybody who is fighting corruption and communalism to give me advise on how to go about in my endeavour," he added.
The actor and the activist-turned-politician wound up the media interaction without taking any questions.
Kejriwal was received by Kamal Haasan's daughter Akshara at the airport and taken to his house.
Earlier, Kamal Haasan met Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and declared that "saffron is not my colour".
In recent times, the actor has been attacking the various factions in the AIADMK and lamenting about corruption in the state.
Addressing a press conference here, Aam Adami Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh said the the central government and the BJP wanted to crush the AAP and defame Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
"It a conspiracy to de-recognise and de-register the AAP and the BJP is involved in it totally. What Kapil Mishra says, BJP repeats it. What the BJP says, Kapil Mishra repeats. When the BJP leaders speak of corruption, it seems Daku Gabbar Singh is preaching non-violence," he said.
Singh also questioned authenticity of the cheques shown by Mishra while making allegations in his press conference earlier in the day.
"Cheques of Rs 35 crore each were shown. Nobody asked where they came from. It is a big fraud. Fake cheques were shown. Anyone can do this. Even I can make such cheque of Rs 70 crore in the name of BJP. I ask BJP leaders to stop shooting its gun from Mishra's shoulder," he said.
Singh also accused the BJP of changing a law with retrospective effect to save itself from a court-ordered action for irregular political funding.
"The BJP and the Congress has not given declaration of about 70-80 per cent of donations worth Rs 1,000 crore in last 10 years. They said these 70-80 per cent donations were received from unknown sources. They are not ready to reveal the source. Whether it came from hawala or foreign companies or organisations?" he asked.
Singh said that after the demonetisation, old currency notes amounting to Rs 14.5 lakh crore was in circulation but deposits of Rs 17 lakh crore were made.
"Who owns this Rs 2.5 lakh crore? Were they owned by the BJP or the Congress or terrorists? RBI is not giving information about it. Despite of huge corruption, the government is silent," he said.
Singh also raked up past incidences of corruption in which BJP leader were allegedly involved, while noting that the former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi had said that the AAP was the most transparent when it come to to political donations.
Representatives of seven national parties and 48 state parties were invited by the poll panel for the meeting at the Constitution Club, to reassure the parties that Electronic Voting Machines cannot be tampered with and were secured.
A host of opposition parties chiefly the Arvind Kejirwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have alleged that EVMs were tampered with in the February-March five state assembly elections and the just concluded Delhi civic bodies polls.
Earlier AAP legislator Saurabh Bharadwaj during a special session of the Delhi Assembly had sought to demonstrate the procedure for tampering an EVM.
The poll panel dismissed his assertion outright saying the machine used by Bharadwaj was a "lookalike" of an ECEVM and therefore could be used to demonstrate "any magic" or tampering.
"Those staying in rented houses don't get benefit of low water and electricity tariff. After municipal elections, we will make sure even they receive the benefit," Kejriwal tweeted.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader also appealed to the people of Delhi not to vote for the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"The BJP hiked the electricity rates in Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh. If you vote for the Congress or the BJP in the civic polls, they would hike electricity and water rates in Delhi as well," he said.
Delhi's three municipal corporations with a total 272 members go to polls on April 23 and the results would be declared on April 26.
A notification issued by the law ministry quoted the president as saying that in the light of the opinion expressed by the Election Commission (EC), the 20 members of the Delhi legislative assembly have been disqualified.
The AAP MLAs were appointed parliamentary secretaries and their appointment was described as them holding offices of profit by a petitioner.
In a blow to the AAP, the EC had on Friday asked the President to disqualify its 20 MLAs.
"...Having considered the matter in the light of the opinion expressed by the Election Commission, I, Ram Nath Kovind, president of India, in exercise of the powers...do here hold that the aforesaid 20 members of the Delhi legislative assembly stand disqualified from being members of the said assembly," the notification said.
All the 20 AAP MLAs had moved the Delhi High Court challenging the EC's recommendation but Justice Rekha Palli had refused to pass any interim order.
Yesterday, several Aam Aadmi Party leaders had tweeted a picture in which Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari and Mishra were seen in one frame.
The sacked minister's mother, Annapurna Mishra, a former mayor of Delhi, claimed that the picture was clicked was an event to felicitate AAP leader Kumar Vishwas' father and was attended by Kejriwal and all his ministers.
She said Kejriwal had pursued her to convince Mishra to join politics despite the latter not being interested. In the letter, she also alleged that Kejriwal's men had started calling her "corrupt" while he has maintained a stoic silence over the issue.
Mishra's mother claimed that she was the one who had organised mohalla sabha in 2007 and reminded Kejriwal that he had attended it and it was even mentioned in his book Swaraj.
"You had said that when the AAP MLAs had their first meeting at the Constitution Club after winning 28 seats, they were shown a video of a mohalla sabha organised by me," she said.
She also expressed disappointment at Kejriwal's silence on the questions being posed by her son.
Annapurna also said that she was proud of her son who was on a hunger strike and hadn't eaten for the last three days.
The former mayor said Mishra was only "an agent of truth" and would keep soldiering on as he was very stubborn. She urged Kejriwal to share the information being sought by her son.
After his removal as a minister and his suspension from the party, Mishra launched a fast demanding that the AAP divulge details of foreign tours undertaken by five leaders of the party which, in turn, has accused him of following a script penned by the BJP.
Mohanty in his affidavit declared 28 cases against him, but he has not been convicted in any of them so far. Of the 28 cases, three are murder, one is attempt to murder and one is dacoity with murder, Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, state coordinator of Odisha Election Watch said today.
Lambodar Kanhar, an Independent candidate from Kandhamal constituency, is ranked second with seven serious cases against him followed by BJP nominee Sangeeta Kumari Singh Deo, wife of state BJP president Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, from Bolangir with three cases against her, incldung an attempt to murder.
Stating that 19 of the 98 candidates had criminal cases pending against them, he said 13 had serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, dacoity and criminal intimidation pending against them.
The candidates with cases related to crime against women were Lambodar Kanhar, Sukanta Kumar Panigrahi of BJP from Kandhamal, who had a case pending against him for assault and use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty, and Ashok Bisi of CPI from Bargarh who had a case of cruelty towards wife.
A party-wise analysis revealed that 4 out of 10 candidates fielded by BJP, one of 10 candidates from INC, two of 10 of BJD, three of 8 AAP candidates, one of 10 BSP candidates, one candidate of CPI (M) and two of 17 of Independents had criminal cases against them.
Taking red alert constituencies into account, two of them -- Kalahandi and Kandhamal -- had at least three candidates each with criminal cases against them.
Mishra is currently the vice chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and a legislator from Karawal Nagar constituency. He will replace Jitender Singh Tomar who quit after being arrested on Tuesday in a fake degree case.
Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia is scheduled to meet Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung and propose Mishra's name for the post.
"Kumar Vishwas has been summoned to state his stand on the allegations made by his party volunteer. We have asked him to appear before us tomorrow," said an official of the DCW.
"The volunteer had worked for a year in Amethi for the party and now it is a matter of her respect, and so Kumar Vishwas should turn up and give his clarification," the official said.
However, sources from Kumar Vishwas camp said he had not received any summons or notice in this connection from the DCW or any other commission.
A female volunteer of the AAP had alleged molestation by Kumar Vishwas during campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections in Amethi.
Far left Syriza had come to power in Greece. Southern Europe was likewise threatened. Gone was the Berlusconi tamasha in Italy. The Nordic North was taking to racism like duck to water. Britain and France, liberal citadels, were besieged and may fall. Western economies are in such disrepair that Chinese slowdown is, to the protagonists, heartening speculation.
The electorate in Delhi administered such a double fisted punch on the established order as to leave it dazed. Never in the history of free and fair elections had a party won more than 90 per cent of the seats - 67 seats in a house of 70. This in the metropolis of Delhi, the capital of India. That too, at a moment when India was being enlisted in the global grand design against the rise of China. This market of 1.25 billion must be insulated from turbulence. At such a moment, AAP has come riding a bolt from the blue. Ideas have legs and for this reason this idea, tried out in Delhi with brilliant success, had to be killed.
Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and Anand Kumar are without doubt the finest men in AAP but they have not set the popular imagination on fire. Arvind Kejriwal has.
Nothing quite as magical has happened in Indian public life. As a communicator he has no parallel. I have not seen him strike one false note in the hundreds of interviews, and off-the-cuff comments in the course of a campaign which was a seamless media show.
Narendra Modi in his historic victory of May 2014 had come to power riding the world’s most expensive media campaign. He gained a thousand fold from the listlessness of the Congress. Modi harvested the unspeakable disgust with Sonia, Rahul and Manmohan Singh.
The timing of Kejriwal’s victory placed a huge question mark on Modi’s performance. AAP exposed the potential for early disenchantment with Modi.
AAP was not just a local aberration, it was a threat to patterns of crony capitalism. India Inc had bought up the media, lock, stock and barrel. Any journalist pitting himself as a conscientious objector to AAP should unburden himself of the grand delusion that he is driven by his inner voice. He is owned by interests who, in a manner of speaking, own Modi too.
That is why it is sad that Prashant Bhushan, Yogendra Yadav and now even Anand Kumar have allowed themselves to be used by that instrument of the establishment called the media. Photographs of these gents have adorned the front pages of the nation’s newspapers for the past month. These have been accompanied by news of rebellion within AAP.
The issues hinge on the personality of Kejriwal which appears to have bruised the egos of his think tank. How the party should structure itself? What position would Bhushan and Yadav have in it?
There has been an incipient tussle between Left inclined welfarism favoured by Kejriwal and Lohia socialism. Free thinking is in the DNA of Lohiaites, which is what Yogendra Yadav and Anand Kumar primarily are. It would always have been problematic to fit them into hierarchies as also to ignore their ideas.
What is astonishing is that instead of sorting out issues within the party forum, the dissidents have possibly unwittingly played into the hands of the establishment. Even if there were serious charges against Kejriwal, could the dissidents not have raised them in good time, once the AAP government had found its feet?
In this instance, too much success appears to have been the party’s bane. Remember when the Modi campaign was in full swing, important BJP leaders were whispering their own assessments of the electoral outcome. They were called the 160 club. The implication was that Modi with a small margin would need the club to form the government.
Likewise, a relatively modest victory for AAP would have been more to the liking of those who now find Kejriwal unmanageable in his exceptional success.
If possible, Kejriwal must walk the extra mile to retain old comrades. His other cadres are very raw and untrained. Alternatively he will have to dedicate himself unwaveringly to good governance which was his original theme song.
In Prashant Bhushan, the dissidents do have in their ranks, the high minded Brutus. What Kejriwal requires is a Mark Antony who will turn the argument around.
Training his guns at Rahul Gandhi, Kejriwal accused him of being corrupt. He drew up a list of "corrupt" politicians that included SP supremo Mulayam Singh, BSP chief Mayawati, Union Ministers P Chidambaram and Sushilkumar Shinde and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari, among others.
Late tonight, at a meeting of AAP National Council, it was decided to add the names of Sonia for pursuing "dynastic politics", Modi for "criminalisation of politics", AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey said.
The other names added at this meeting were Vitthal Radadiya, BJP MP from Gujarat, allegedly involved in the attack on a toll booth, Dinu Solanki, also BJP MP, whose name figures in the murder iof RTI activist Amit Jethwa and Chhagan Bhjbal, former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and currently PWD minister.
Within hours of his name being mentioned in the list of corrupt, Gadkari slapped a legal notice on Kejriwal demanding that he take back his words and offer a public apology within three days or face legal action.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said,"BJP condemns the statement and expects that he will either present proof (backing)... the wild allegations or seek an apology...
Otherwise, all options are open, including that of taking legal action."
He also took a jibe at Modi, BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate, and Rahul, Congress Vice-President, for spending over "Rs 500 crore on branding" and image-building exercise.
Addressing the National Council meeting attended by Aam Aadmi Party volunteers from across the country, Kejriwal said, "I have prepared a list of dishonest (politicians) of the country. If you come across any honest politician in the list then please tell me.
"This disciplinary committee has decided to expel Vinod Kumar Binny and terminate his primary membership from the party, for publicly making false statements against the party and its leadership, thereby bringing disrepute to the party," the party said in a statement.
The party had formed a disciplinary committee on January 19 to look into the matter. The committee was headed by Pankaj Gupta and other members included Ashish Talwar, Illyas Azmi, Yogendra Yadav and Gopal Rai. The party said Binny has been sent a letter informing decision of the party.
39-year-old Binny, a former Congressman, had held a press conference on January 16 in which he had attacked Kejriwal and the party leaders, accusing them of "deviating" from the core principles of the party.
Subsequently, AAP had issued a showcause notice to him for violating the code of conduct under Section 6(1)(a) of the party constitution.
Binny had announced that he will sit on a dharna at Jantar Mantar if the party fails to fulfil the promises made to people by January 27.
In his press conference, Binny had slammed the leadership on a range of issues and said taking support of Congress to form the government was a "compromise of the party's principles".
He had said the party has "forgotten" its ideologies and become "an opportunist outfit" after coming to power. "They are using policy of use and throw. First, they have used Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and still many people in the party are being exploited," he had said.
Binny said though the party during the election campaign had promised to provide 700 litres of free water to each household, the government "very cleverly" announced that those exceeding the limit will have to pay for the full amount.
Rubbishing the MLA's criticism, Kejriwal had said that Binny had come to him for ministership and later he wanted to contest the Lok Sabha polls.
Binny had termed Kejriwal's statement on his seeking Lok Sabha ticket as the "biggest lie".
The action against the three constables -- Jitendra, Arvid and Saurabh -- came hours after AAP posted the video on its Facebook page.
In the video, the policemen were seen beating a man with stick and taking his wallet. AAP said the video was shot on January 12. In a message posted along with the video, the AAP said the video not only "shows Delhi police's inhuman behavior but also the urban legend of police extorting money".
The posting of the video came days after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held a two-day dharna outside Rail Bhavan seeking action against policemen in three different cases.
"This video was shot by a vigilante near Lal Quila," the party said and asked whether Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde would take action against the policemen involved.
"The Lt Governor played a key role in defusing the situation," said a government source.
Jung made discreet inquiries at his end and reportedly found some damaging information against the police officials whom the Delhi government wanted penalised, the source added.
As to the withdrawing of the dharna, the source said that Jung had sought a commitment from Kejriwal that he would agree with the formula devised by him "to end the stalemate".
Kejriwal's two-day dharna outside Rail Bhavan here was today withdrawn after the Lt Governor "partially agreed" to the government's demand of action against five Delhi Police officers for alleged dereliction of duty.
As the proposal reached the government, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the members of AAP's Political Affairs Committee (PAC) held an hour-long closed door meeting at Press Club following which the CM announced his decision to call off the dharna.
Kejriwal, his cabinet and party colleagues and AAP supporters had gone on a dharna over their demand for the suspension of three SHOs and two ACPs in connection with three separate cases.
One of those involved the gangrape of the Danish woman in the national capital while the second case deals with the alleged burning of a woman by her in-laws over dowry.
The third matter is related to an alleged prostitution and drug ring in Malviya Nagar and Khirki Extension and the refusal of police there to undertake a raid against those reportedly involved in the racket when Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti had sought their intervention for the same.
Under the compromise agreed by AAP, the SHO of Malviya Nagar and the PCR van in-charge at Paharganj, where the Danish woman was gangraped last week, have been sent on leave.
AAP sources, meanwhile, said that "senior officers" of Delhi Police had met a Delhi minister in the morning with a view to ending the "deadlock".
"Five AAP leaders will go to the SC today (Tuesday) to submit an application for an SIT (Special Investigation Team) probe into funding of the BJP, Congress and AAP," AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said in a tweet.
AAP leader Ashutosh in a tweet said that he along with four other leaders will go to the apex court to hand over a letter, requesting to create an SIT to investigate the funding of the BJP, the Congress and the AAP.
"A team of five leaders - Ashutosh, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay singh, Ashish Khetan and Yogendra Yadav - will reach the SC...," Ashutosh tweeted.
"If the BJP has guts, lets meet at a place of your choice and talk about each other's fund ??? In full public view !!!," Ashutosh said in another tweet.
The move comes a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) made allegations on AAP of receiving funding from bogus companies.
The clash broke out over an issue after the debate show in Tughlakabad area of south Delhi.
Workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party pushed each other and pelted stones. Both the parties accused each other of abusing and using derogatory remarks.
The vehicle of an AAP candidate was also torched in the incident. Police immediately cordoned off the area and rushed the injured persons to the hospital.
Police said five persons suffered injuries during the clash. They were also verifying the allegations.
The AAP strongly condemned the clash and said that its members were attacked by the "hired goons" of BJP parliamentarian Ramesh Bidhuri.
"The hired goons of the BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, attacked our volunteers and burnt the vehicle of AAP candidate Sahi Ram," a party statement said.
"The violence unleashed by the BJP on AAP volunteers is a clear indication that it wants to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in the national capital ahead of the assembly election," it said.
Ramesh Bidhuri, however said the AAP men attacked his nephew and three BJP members after the debate.
"At least 20 people attacked our men. AAP men have themselves set the car on fire and blamed us for it," Biduri told IANS.
Of course, the transformation from a crusader to a man with feet of clay did not come overnight. The first signs of his overbearing nature came when he eased out Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav, two of the saner voices in the party who tried to ensure that the party remained wedded to the core principles, from the party. It was the same ‘high command’ culture that the AAP once denounced that forced a thoroughly disillusioned Mayank Gandhi out of the party. The exit of the ‘conscience keepers’ hastened the transition of AAP from a party that believed in decision making through consensus to one that is ruled by the firmaan that bedevils many other parties, including the Congress. Kejriwal became the ‘supremo’ of a party born out of a genuine people’s movement.
Of course, those who worked with him in his RTI crusader days knew about his political ambitions, his authoritarian streak and his knack for hogging the limelight all along. That’s why the likes of Aruna Ray and Nikhil Dey, who did as much, if not more, for the RTI movement were skeptical about his intentions even at the height of the IAC movement. On his part, anti-crusader Anna Hazare appears to have committed a genuine error of judgment while choosing him as his lieutenant in chief during the IAC movement - and is probably repenting his decision.
But it would be foolish to write Kejriwal’s epitaph yet. He may have lost the sheen that once made him the darling of the middle class. But he still is a formidable leader with an incredible 66 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, one of the few leaders in the country who bested Narendra Modi at a time when his popularity was at its peak. Despite the severe beating that his image has taken over the two years since then, there are no signs as yet that he has lost the support of the masses who catapulted him to the position of Chief Minister, notwithstanding the MCD polls results last year. Experience suggests that the poorer classes are less dismissive of an authoritarian streak in their leader and more forgiving of financial skullduggery than the middle classes, as long as the leader is seen as doing enough for them. [Many of those in the middle class, in any case, don’t even take the trouble of going to the booth and casting their votes on election day.] One just has to look at the example of our very own Naveen Patnaik for proof.
By all reckoning, the Kejriwal’s government’s initiatives and experiments in the crucial areas of education and health care have earned the lasting gratitude of the poor and praise from many quarters. The ‘mohalla clinic’ experiment, in particular, has been a success by all reckoning.
While he does appear to be obstinate while dealing with party leaders, the AAP boss has shown that he has the political sagacity to make necessary course correction when things do not go his way. After the fiasco in Punjab and Goa last year, he appears to have realized that his ambition of emerging as a ‘national’ leader was a bit too premature. Realising that he was trying to spread the party’s footprints too fast and too thin, he has wisely decided to concentrate on his home turf. The cut down on his daily dose of anti-Modi harangue also suggests that he has seen reason. Coupled with the visible dent in Modi’s popularity since 2014, this makes him a formidable contender in the next Assembly election in 2020 too.
But those who lent their whole-hearted support to Kejriwal believing that he was the knight in shining armour sent by God to rid the Indian polity of all its muck would certainly mourn the end of AAP as a party with a difference. The Aam Admi Party is now truly an Aam (common) party!
If the commentariat is still busy writing the epitaph of the party that won an incredible 67 out of 70 seats in the Delhi Assembly just three years ago, it is because the party has shown absolutely no signs of having read the writing on the wall or any inclination to embark on a course correction. One of the first requirements for the revival of a party is to do an honest introspection to see where it may have gone wrong and what it needs to do win back the confidence of the electorate. But in choosing to attribute its loss to tampering of EVMs, AAP has not only proved that it is a bad loser but has also foreclosed any possibility of a revival any time soon.
That it has fallen back on EVM bashing after the drubbing in the MCD polls suggests it still does not know - or even wants to know - what hit it. If AAP - and more specifically its chief Arvind Kejriwal - had done any serious soul searching after the twin debacles in Punjab and Goa, it would have realised the need to abandon its national ambitions and concentrate on governance in Delhi. A non resident Chief Minister without portfolio, who spent more time outside the state to oversee the party's expansion drive in other states and spent all his time in Modi bashing when he is in Delhi was not what the people had bargained for while voting in such overwhelming numbers in 2015.
AAP has come a long way since the time it rode the crest of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement launched by Anna Hazare. It has lost its moorings that made people see it as an alternative to the cynical, corrupt, casteist and communal parties that have held sway all these years. Having smashed two national parties into pulp in 2015, it should have realised that it needed to dismantle the system put in place by the two parties and usher in an era of honest, people centric politics. Instead, it chose to perpetuate the system through cynical, personality driven and populist vote bank politics, leaving the electorate thoroughly disillusioned and disappointed. The results are there for everyone to see.
Yet, the fall of AAP must be mourned by the people of the country because it had raised hopes of a complete break with the kind of politics they had seen and promised something much better. As he stands on the ruins of the party, Kejriwal would do well to ponder over what his erstwhile good friend and colleague Mayank Gandhi has written in an open letter to him after the drubbing in the municipal polls. He should realise that it is time to go back to the drawing board and apply correctives. One of the first things he must do is to get off the high horse and smell the ground beneath. He must do away with his megalomaniac streak and accept that he is not bigger than the party. Fortunately for him, he has time to make amends. But if he decides to pursue his cynical, manipulative politics, it would be the end of the road for him as well as AAP.
That would be a real tragedy.
A light-weight candidate, Shalini Yadav has unsuccessfully contested he Mayoral polls in Varanasi on a Congress ticket in 2017.
Shalini Yadav is the daughter of former Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairperson Shyamlal Yadav.
Samajwadi Party sources said that none of the senior party leaders in the region were willing to contest against the Prime Minister and the party then decided to field Shalini Yadav who joined the party on Monday evening.
"I will work to the best of my abilities under the guidance of Akhilesh Yadav and try to wrest the seat from the BJP. The youth is on our side and nothing is impossible if you make the effort," she told reporters.
The Varanasi seat had been won by Murli Manohar Joshi in 2009 and became a VIP seat in 2014 when Narendra Modi defeated his nearest rival Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party by a huge margin of over 3.75 lakh votes.
Polling in Varanasi will be held in the last phase of elections on May 19.
Speaking to the media in the national capital, Gambhir said: "Some people make promises of transforming Delhi into London and Paris. But our priority will be to make Delhi the best place to live in with good water and air."
He also said that politics is also like the game of cricket where team spirit is required to play well.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Gambhir from East Delhi parliamentary constituency, replacing outgoing party MP Maheish Girri.
Gambhir had filed his nomination papers on Monday.
He is contesting against Congress leader Arvinder Lovely and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi Marlena.
Voting is scheduled to take place in Delhi on May 12 in the sixth phase of seven-phase Lok Sabha elections.
The BJP had won all the seven seats in the 2014 elections.
Besides Girri, the party has replaced North West Delhi MP Udit Raj with singer-turned-politician Hans Raj Hans.
The BJP has fielded Delhi party unit chief Manoj Tiwari from North East Delhi, Meenakshi Lekhi from New Delhi, Ramesh Bidhuri from South Delhi, Pravesh Singh Verma from West Delhi and Union Minister Harsh Vardhan from Chandani Chowk parliamentary seat.
The party, born out of a nationwide anti-corruption movement, maintains zero tolerance towards corruption, the manifesto reads. The AAP promised to "revive the Anti Corruption Branch".
"We firmly believe that every paisa of the tax paid by the people should be spent for their welfare. To ensure this, in the first term of our government, we took swift actions against the corrupt through the Anti Corruption Branch," said the manifesto.
"But immediately after the AAP Government was formed for the second time in 2015, the ACB was taken away from Delhi government by the Centre. With full statehood, Delhi will have its Anti Corruption Branch and we will strive to make Delhi corruption free," it reads.
It also promised the Jan Lokpal Bill.
"We will promulgate the Jan Lokpal Bill to give Delhi the most effective Lokpal, who can investigate any government officer or minister, including the Chief Minister.
The AAP said it will establish benchmarks with a new citizen's charter which will list the actions and conduct of public functionaries that will be deemed as a corrupt practice.
"Right to time-bound delivery of service: We will bring into force a law to guarantee a citizen's right to time-bound delivery of public services, failing which heavy penalties will be imposed on erring officials," the manifesto said.
The party also attacked the BJP-led Central government for "illegally" holding control over officials.
The Samajwadi Party announced the candidature of Tej Bahadur Yadav, a resident of Harayana's Rewari, who was dismissed from service after he complained about poor quality of food served to the personnel.
Tej Bahadur Yadav told IANS: "Today I filed the nomination papers from Varanasi as Samajwadi Party candidate."
He said that the fight in the Varanasi is now between "a real watchman and a fake watchman".
"Earlier the party has fielded Shalini Yadav but then Akhileshji (SP chief Akhilesh Yadav) gave a thought about whom to field against the fake chowkidaar (watchman).
"The people now have to choose between a real watchman and a fake watchman. Even Akhileshji said that we are standing with the real watchman and not with a person who only believes in rhethoric," the ex-Border Security Force (BSF) trooper said.
He said that the Aam Aadmi Party will support his candidature in the Lok Sabha polls.
Tej Bahadur Yadav had earlier announced that he will contest as an independent candidate from Varanasi.
The BSF constable was dismissed in 2017 after he posted a video on Facebook complaining about the poor quality of food provided to the security personnel.
Attacking the Modi government, he said: "I was dismissed because I spoke the truth. The parliamentary committee, with Murli Manohar Joshi as its member, submitted the report in Parliament in my favour. Despite that, I was dismissed."
Varanasi goes to polls on May 19 in the final phase of the seven-stage general elections.