In a bizarre retort to BJP’s claims of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fielding activist Medha Patkar as Gujarat’s Chief Ministerial candidate from the party, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday told a reporter to ask BJP whether they are naming Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successor. In the same interaction with the journalists, Kejriwal predicted BJP’s defeat in the upcoming Gujarat state assembly polls and said that the Congress is “finished”
The journalist had sought clarity on BJP’s claims that AAP was keen on giving a backdoor ticket to Medha Patkar for the Gujarat elections. Replying to the BJP’s claims, Kejriwal said, “I also heard that Sonia Gandhi is next in line to be BJP’s next Prime Ministerial candidate after Modi ji. I dare you to ask this question to BJP. Ask this question to the BJP at the next press conference. Say that Kejriwal is claiming that BJP will make Sonia Gandhi India’s Prime Minister after Narendra Modi.”
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AAP had fielded Patkar, who is the founder of the Narmada Bachao Andolan, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Gujarat.
Reacting to Congress leader Ajoy Kumar’s allegation that the Punjab government has spent Rs 36 crore behind Kejriwal’s political campaign in Gujarat when it cannot pay the salaries for the past two months, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “Congress is finished. Stop asking their questions. No one cares about them anymore.”
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Congress also pointed at Kejriwal’s recent auto ride in Ahmedabad and called it a publicity stunt. The party claimed that Kejriwal travels in a luxury car worth Rs 2 crore to the airport and from there, he rides on a private aircraft to the Gujarat.
On his recent visits to the poll-bound state, Kejriwal has promised free water, free electricity up to 300 units per month and free education in state-run schools in Gujarat among many measures.