Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday accused Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of turning Punjab into an "ATM of corruption" to fund his legal fees to fight court cases. Speaking at a campaign rally in Punjab for BJP candidate Ravneet Singh Bittu, Shah criticised both the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stating they act as allies elsewhere but become enemies in Punjab.
"I want to ask the AAP and Congress that you have an alliance in Delhi, Haryana, and Gujarat. Then why are you playing 'noora kushti' (fixed match) here?" Shah said, PTI reported.
The AAP and Congress as a part of the I.N.D.I.A bloc has a seat-sharing pact in Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, and Haryana for the Lok Sabha polls but is contesting separately in Punjab.
Asserting that Punjab has become a "den of corruption" and that the people of Punjab are "fed up" with it, the senior BJP leader called for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to "stop this corruption" in an attack on the AAP government.
Kejriwal Gets His Legal Fees From A 'Punjab ATM': Shah
Focusing on Kejriwal, Shah said, "Kejriwal has to fight his case and needs to pay (legal) fees. He gets it from a 'Punjab ATM'. Kejriwal has turned Punjab into an ATM of corruption". "He has to fight elections, he puts the 'Mann credit card' in ATM and takes money to Delhi," he alleged.
According to the BJP leader, Mann goes with Kejriwal as a pilot if he needs to travel to Gujarat, West Bengal, or Chennai. "I do not understand, is he (Mann) Kejriwal's pilot or Punjab CM? But one positive thing Mann did was that he didn't go with Kejriwal to jail," Shah remarked, sneering at the chief minister of Punjab.
Kejriwal, who was arrested in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, was greatly relieved when the Supreme Court gave him temporary bail on Friday, allowing him to campaign for Lok Sabha seats until June 1.