Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today positioned AAP as a party with a "difference" over the removal of Sandeep Kumar as minister for "betrayal" of core values, even as he hit out at BJP and Congress for "shielding" top leaders accused of corruption.
In a video message a day after he sacked Kumar, Kejriwal asserted that he will prefer to die or dissolve the party rather than compromising with the AAP's principles, adding the same rule will apply to himself and all other senior leaders.
Kejriwal said although the turn of events and the fact that "such people" were in the party "saddened" him, he takes "pride" from the fact that AAP did not attempt to "cover up" the transgressions.
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"Sandeep Kumar betrayed the party, he betrayed the AAP movement and the trust people across the country have reposed on AAP. We will never ever compromise on our core values. We will prefer to die, close the party or perish than tolerating wrongdoings," he said.
Admitting that the case may sully the party's image in people's minds, Kejriwal said what sets AAP apart from other parties was that it does not dither to take prompt action, which comes out from the fact that as many as "four people" have been summarily suspended.
"When we get proof of any wrongdong we don't spare anyone and take immediate action, which does not happen in other parties," he said.
In a sudden move, Kumar, who held the Women and Child Welfare and Social Welfare portfolios, was sacked from the council of ministers yesterday by Kejriwal after he received a nine-minute-long CD in which Kumar was purportedly shown in a compromising position with a woman.
"We never cover up when we get evidence of any wrongdoing. AAP takes action as soon as we get any evidence. Yesterday, a TV channel sent me the clip at 8 PM and we removed him at 8.30. This is the difference where we don't compromise at any cost. It is sad that such people (Kumar) were with AAP," Kejriwal said.
Rebutting BJP's criticism, Kejriwal asked the party what action it had taken against allegations of wrongdoings against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and former Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel.
He also attacked Congress and wondered "why the party shied away from taking action against its Punjab Chief Amarinder Singh when it was found that his family has Swiss bank accounts", adding that Akali Dal too is "saving" Majithia who is in drug business.
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The Delhi Chief Minister said that AAP will also take action against Kumar soon.
Defending the AAP's decision to give ticket to Kumar in the Assembly polls, Kejriwal said the party had conducted a three-layer probe before giving ticket to a candidate on his image and whether he has any past record of wrongdoing or not.
"But still, these things are not written on anyone's face. Despite stringent probes, there are loose ends. It is also possible that one may not have indulged in any such act before coming to power.
"What can one do when he is not sure about his own son, as to what he will do after he grows up?" he asked.
Kejriwal further said one of our ministers faced allegations of forged degree and AAP removed him from his post. Another minister was removed for demanding a bribe of Rs 6 lakh and no one including the opposition and the media had the audio clip but we acted on our own.
"We could have suppressed it. But I would have betrayed my conscience, my supporters, my country and the party. But we suspended Asim from the Cabinet. We received allegations of graft against our Punjab convener, we suspended him immediately and set up a probe," he said.
The decision to remove 36-year-old Kumar was taken at a high-level meeting attended by top AAP leaders last night.
"Today if I can act against my own, my minister then you can rest assured that I will act against others too. I want to say that I am saddened that we had such dirty fishes amongst us," Kejriwal said.
Kumar today alleged that he was being targeted under a "conspiracy" as he was a Dalit and demanded a probe into the issue.
"This is a conspiracy against me as I belong to Valmiki Samaj. There should be a probe into this matter. There is no authenticity of this CD. Authenticity should be checked," he told reporters at his residence here.
