AAP more comfortable in streets than secretariat: Jaitley

Taking a dig at the AAP for deciding to launch an agitation outside the home ministry from Monday, senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley said the party was more comfortable on the streets than inside the secretariat.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded action against some police personnel who had a tiff with two of its ministers. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with his party members has threatened to begin the dharna Monday morning.

"It is obvious that the AAP is more comfortable doing a dharna than in the sachivalaya (secretariat). The past three weeks have shown that in the sachivalya, the party gets into a self-destructive mode," Jaitley said in his blog Sunday.

"There is no discipline in the organisation. The party comprises of the ideologists, the activists, the self-opinionated and the self-righteous. Forming a party and running a government is very different from leading an agitation."

Taking on Law Minister Somnath Bharti following the vigilante-style rounding up and alleged manhandling of some African nationals in a midnight raid last week, Jaitley said his approach appeared to be racist.

"He has created a serious problem with African nationals staying in Delhi," he said, adding that the AAP had become a victim of its own unconventional style.

"Mobs can't take decisions. They can at best be populist. The party's performance in government is becoming embarrassing by the day."

Raising questions on the agitation, Jaitley asked: "Is the planned dharna for one day a ploy to fracture its non-transparent arrangement with the Congress? Is the AAP looking for a way out of the government and get back to the streets? Or is it exploiting the non-preparedness of the Congress and the home minister yielding to the pressures of the AAP?"