Keep promises or face protest: Expelled legislator tells AAP

Expelled AAP legislator Vinod Kumar Binny Monday announced that he would launch a nation-wide movement against the Delhi government, if the promises that the Aam Aadmi Party made ahead of the assembly polls are not kept.

Binny began a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar -- in the heart of the national capital -- to protest the Delhi government's inaction over the promises made earlier.

A few hours after he began his hunger strike Monday, however, he told reporters that he has decided to call it off. "We are giving 10 days' time to the Delhi government. If the demands are not met, we will lunch a movement against the AAP," Binny told reporters.

The Aam Aadmi Party's disciplinary committee Sunday expelled Binny from the party for publicly making what it termed "false statements" against the party and its leadership.

The legislator, before starting his protest, met Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung. Binny, who defeated A.K. Walia, the health minister in the previous Sheila Dikshit government, from the Laxmi Nagar assembly constituency in east Delhi, earlier attacked the AAP government for allegedly backtracking on promises made in the election manifesto.

Another AAP leader, Tina Sharma, who joined him in the protest, said: "This is a fight on issues. The AAP has breached the trust of people."

"I am thankful to Binny that he started this protest against the AAP, and I am with him," she said.

A few supporters of India Against Corruption (IAC) also extended support to Binny.

Binny said: "(Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal's priority is not to save the government and work for the welfare of the people. His priority is to run away from promises he made to the people during the elections. But I won't let him run away from his responsibilities."

Refuting the charges, Kejriwal said Monday that unlike other governments, the AAP has cleared a number of development works in the one month it has been in power.

"We are not here to do politics or to save our government," Kejriwal said.

--Indo-ASian News Service

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