Delhi Chief Minister called an important party meeting to address the issue of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs being threatened by BJP members. More than 50MLAs arrived for a meeting called today to discuss what Kejriwal calls attempts by the BJP to lure his legislators and topple his government. A few MLAs were said to be “unreachable”.
Delhi’s ruling party has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi Assembly. Around 53 MLAs attended the CM’s meeting.
AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the saffron party tried to topple the Delhi government using Operation Lotus. He said, “All AAP MLAs, including Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, are going to Rajghat to pray for the failure of BJP’s Operation Lotus.”
AAP has accused the BJP of plotting an “Operation Lotus” to bring down its government, following the pattern of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. This comes prior to Gujarat Elections 2022 where AAP comes out as a strong contender.
Earlier, Kejriwal said “Some MLAs have approached me and told me that they have been threatened, offered bribes to break the party. This is a very serious matter.” MLAs have been offered Rs 20 crore each if they join the party and Rs 25 crore if they bring other MLAs along with them.
On Monday, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had alleged an offer by the BJP to drop cases against him and make him its Chief Ministerial candidate if he switched sides.
The BJP has rubbished the charge, accusing AAP of trying to deflect attention from the corruption allegations against its government.
