Page 49 - Aam Aadmi Party

In a victory for AAP, SC says the Delhi govt has control over services

Delhi vs Centre case: L-G shall exercise powers under the administrative role as entrusted by the President, said the Supreme Court

Not Rs 45 cr, but Rs 171 cr spent on Kejriwal's 'palace', alleges Congress

The Congress on Sunday alleged that the amount spent on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence was Rs 171 crore and not Rs 45 crore reported earlier as his government had to buy additional flats for officers whose houses had to be either demolished or vacated for the expansion of the CM's residential complex. Accusing Kejriwal of faking a simple lifestyle and instead spending crores on his residence, Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken said that in contrast to this, the epitome of simplicity in Delhi was his party leader and former chief minister Sheila Dikshit. "The amount spent by the whole cabinet of Sheila Dikshit on their homes in 15 years of its rule is no match to the amount spent by Arvind Kejriwal on the renovation of his palace," Maken alleged. He alleged the amount spent on Kejriwal's residence was not Rs 45 crore but Rs 171 crore and that too during the time of the Covid pandemic when people were running around for hospital beds and for the lack of oxygen. "I wi

Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal has transformed into Sultan of Delhi: BJP

The BJP on Friday alleged AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has transformed from a "common man" to the "Sultan of Delhi" with his Rs 45 crore house makeover. The party also deferred an indefinite protest it had earlier announced it will hold outside the Chief Minister's house over the allegations that he spent the inordinate sum on the renovation of his official residence. No reaction was immediately available from the Aam Aadmi Party over the BJP's protest and charges on Kejriwal. Kejriwal should open the door of his "palace" to the people of Delhi, otherwise the door of law will open for him, said Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi, as she alleged that Kejriwal renovated his 6-Flagstaff Road house in Civil Lines area without proper permission. BJP had announced the dharna to open the doors of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's "Raj Mahal" for the public to see what was there, but now that a TV channel has shown the inside of the bungalow to the public, the dharna is being deferred, said Ramv

Scuffle an attempt to demoralise wrestlers, AAP to support them: Gopal Rai

The AAP alleged on Thursday that the scuffle between wrestlers and Delhi Police personnel was an attempt to demoralise the grapplers, who have been sitting at Jantar Mantar since April 23 braving heat and rain, and force them to leave the site. "They were abused, manhandled and thrashed. Videos and footage are available in public domain. It was very unfortunate, shameful and painful. The wrestlers who brought laurels for the country are sitting at Jantar Mantar, braving rain and heat," AAP Delhi convener Gopal Rai told reporters here. Rai asserted the AAP will continue to support the wrestlers and said the Centre should have listened to their issues and addressed them. On Wednesday night, a scuffle broke out between the wrestlers and some policemen, leading to head injuries to a couple of protesters. The grapplers alleged that a policeman manhandled them in a drunken state, but Delhi Police denied the charge and said they did not use force on the wrestlers during the ruckus. The Aa

People from 360 Delhi villages to express solidarity at wrestlers' protest

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said representatives from 360 villages in Delhi, including MLAs and councillors, will visit Jantar Mantar on Wednesday to express solidarity with the protesting wrestlers. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, AAP Delhi unit convener Gopal Rai said the wrestlers who brought fame for the country have been braving adverse weather conditions. The wrestlers have been staging a sit-in since April 23 over allegations of sexual harassment against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. "Yesterday they sat there in heavy rains. The prime minister has no time to listen to them. SC (Supreme Court) had to direct that an FIR be registered. Even the sports minister is not ready to hear their pleas," he said. Rai accused the BJP of being busy in maligning them. "They are trying to malign the movement. They were not allowed to put up tents. They are not allowed to put up microphone system. The whole nation is watching it. People are

Rs 30 cr were spent on renovation of CM's residence: AAP MP Sanjay Singh

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence was built in 1942 and the roof had collapsed thrice, the Aam Aadmi Party said on Wednesday and accused the BJP of diverting attention from key issues by raising the matter of Rs 45 crore spent on the house. Following the roof collapse incidents, the Public Works Department suggested a new house be built and this was done, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said. "The house has been rebuilt at an expenditure of Rs 30 crore," he said at a press conference. The chief minister's official residence is in north Delhi's Civil Lines area. "Since yesterday, there have been attempts to divert attention from key issues such as the Pulwama attack and the Adani matter by discussing the chief minister's residence. It was an 80-year-old house constructed in 1942. There had been not one but three instances of the roof collapsing," he said. In one, the roof of the room Kejriwal's parents stay in collapsed; in another, it was the chief minister

Vote for AAP if you want development: Kejriwal ahead of LS bypoll

Ahead of next month's Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal Thursday appealed to people of the constituency to vote for his party if they want development, claiming the Congress did nothing for them in 60 years. "We are doing good work and with honesty," he said, addressing a gathering here. "Vote for us in place of Congress...give us one chance," the Delhi chief minister added. "For past 60 years, Jalandhar has been represented by a Congress MP. For 60 years, you voted for the Congress. What did you get? Did the Congress give you anything? Nothing," Kejriwal said. He said people of Punjab gave AAP a chance in last year's assembly polls and the party formed the government with overwhelming majority. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was also present. "And the second thing, if you vote for the Congress, what benefit will you get? In Punjab, it is our government, we have to get the work done. If you vote for the Congress, they will fight and indulge in '

Karnataka people will bless AAP in Assembly polls: Punjab CM Mann

The candidates all over the state have taken up aggressive campaigning and AAP will emerge victorious in its experimentation, he said

Heavy traffic in Delhi as AAP protests against CBI summons to Kejriwal

Heavy traffic snarls were witnessed on Sunday in several parts of Delhi following protests by AAP workers against the summoning of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI in the excise policy case. Vehicular movement was choked at the protest sites of Anand Vihar Terminal, ITO Chowk, Mukarba Chowk Peera Garhi Chowk, Lado Sarai Chowk, Crown Plaza Chowk, Dwarka More Sec 6 and Sec 2 Chauraha, Pecific Wala Chowk Subhash Nagar More, Prem Wari Chauraha Ring Road, New Delhi Railway Station Ajmeri Gate Side, Bara Hanuman Mandir, Karol Bagh Chowk, IIT Crossing, ISBT Kashmiri Gate, Raj Ghat and NH 24 near Murga Mandi Gazipur. Serpentine queues of vehicles clogged the roads owing to the protest. Commuters stuck because of the protests at NH-44 and GT-Karnal Road tweeted pictures that showed long queues of vehicles. Moving at a snail's pace in bumper-to-bumper traffic, many commuters tagged the police in their social media posts and requested them to manage the situation. Police officials

MP Assembly polls: Will give preference to women on 100-120 seats, says AAP

Madhya Pradesh Aam Aadmi Party president Rani Agrawal on Saturday said the party would give preference to women on 100-120 seats in the Assembly polls set to be held in the state at the end of the year. Speaking to reporters at Indore Press Club, she said the people of MP did not have a choice so far as all polls were a straight fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has ruled for a dominant part of the last two decades, and the Congress. "I will give priority to women during candidate selection for 100 to 120 seats in the upcoming MP Assembly polls. AAP will contest on all 230 seats in the state. Till now, the people did not have a choice apart from the BJP and Congress. But now they have AAP, which is moving forward to form a government," she claimed. Agrawal, who is the mayor of Singrauli city, said AAP would declare its chief ministerial candidate for MP after seeking public opinion, like it had done in Punjab, where it won a landslide victory, and Gujarat, where the ..

Centre scared of our party, preparing to arrest Kejriwal, alleges AAP

The AAP on Saturday alleged that the Centre was "misusing" probe agencies to "harass" its leaders and preparing to arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been summoned by the CBI to its headquarters on April 16 for questioning in the excise police case. It also alleged that the Centre was "scared" of the Aam Aadmi Party and their aim was to finish it. Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet minister Atishi asserted Kejriwal was the only leader speaking out on the issue of corruption, which was why efforts were being made to stifle his voice. "Have the agencies found black money during their raids at his residence or anyone else? No. Kejriwal is the only leader talking about the issue of corruption. They want to stifle his voice. But they won't be able to do so," she said. Kejriwal has been summoned by the CBI at its office here to answer questions of the investigating team in connection with irregularities in formulation and implementation o

If Arvind Kejriwal is corrupt then no one in world is honest: AAP supremo

If Arvind Kejriwal is corrupt then there is no one in this world who is honest, Delhi Chief Minister said on Saturday, a day after CBI summoned him

Kejriwal's fight against corruption won't stop, says AAP after CBI summons

Reacting over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party-led centre

'Will definitely go', says Delhi CM Kejriwal on Goa Police notice

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he will definitely go to Goa to appear before the police in connection with a case related to the illegal sticking of posters on public properties during the 2022 assembly election campaign. Asked about the Goa Police's notice, Kejriwal said, "I will go. I will definitely go." The Goa Police on Thursday issued a notice to Kejriwal and asked him to appear before it on April 27. Inspector Dilipkumar Halarnkar of Pernem police station issued the notice to the AAP national convenor under Section 41 (A) of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Section 41 (A) of the CrPC allows the police to issue summonses to a person for inquiry if there is a "reasonable" complaint or suspicion that he has committed an offence. The AAP won two seats in the 2022 assembly election in the BJP-governed state.

AAP's challenges and contradictions as it gets a national party tag

Education and health aside, AAP will now have to address issues on which it has not voiced an opinion so far

Explained: Criteria for becoming national party, roles, advantages and more

The Election Commission of India revised the list of national and state political parties, elevating AAP to national party while demoting NCP and TMC

EC grants national party status to AAP; Trinamool, NCP, CPI lose tag

The Election Commission on Monday recognised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a national party and withdrew the national party status of the All India Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI). In an order issued on Monday, the Commission also revoked the state party status granted to RLD in Uttar Pradesh, BRS in Andhra Pradesh, PDA in Manipur, PMK in Puducherry, RSP in West Bengal and MPC in Mizoram. The Commission said the AAP has been named as a national party based on its electoral performance in four states -- Delhi, Goa, Punjab and Gujarat. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party is in power in Delhi and Punjab. The poll panel said that the status of NCP, CPI and the Trinamool Congress as national political parties would be withdrawn. The BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), National People's Party (NPP) and the AAP are now national parties. The Commission said that NCP and Trinamool Congress will be recognised as state parti

AAP stages protest outside BJP office in solidarity with jailed Sisodia

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) staged a protest outside the BJP headquarters here on Monday to express solidarity with jailed party leader Manish Sisodia, while his court hearing was underway. There was heavy police deployment on the stretch of road leading up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office in view of the protest. Carrying placards that read "Manish Sisodia Tujhe Salaam", the protesters raised slogans, such as "Manish Sisodia ko riha karo" (free Sisodia) and "jail ke taale tootenge, Manish Sisodia chootenge". AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar said, "Manish Sisodiaji has brought a great revolution in Delhi's education sector. The public is with him. Those who dedicate their lives for public welfare, the BJP government puts them in jail. Those who cheat the country like (industrialist Gautam) Adani get protection." Alleging that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has not submitted any proof against Sisodia till date, another legislator Praveen Kumar said the ruling BJP at the Cent

Himanta Biswa Sarma threatens to lodge defamation suit against Kejriwal

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dared his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal to call him corrupt when the latter is on a Guwahati tour on Sunday

Election Commission says looking into AAP's national status issue

The Election Commission on Wednesday said it is looking into the issue of according the national status to the Aam Aadmi Party. "It is under review... We will soon come back to you," Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar told a press conference here when asked about the issue. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party's electoral performances last year paved the way for it to be recognised by the Election Commission as a national party. To earn a national party status, a political outfit needs to be recognised as state party in four states and have at least two members in the respective legislative assemblies, according to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) order,1968. And in order become eligible to be recognised as the state party, a political outfit has to win two seats and secures a minimum six per cent votes in the state. There are other criteria also to earn the national party status. The AAP has been recognised as a state party Delhi, Punjab, Goa and Gujarat. The AAP