New Delhi: Just a few days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, AAP MLA from Jalalabad, Goldy Kamboj, along with two fellow party leaders, convened a joint press conference on Wednesday where they alleged that the BJP had approached them with offers of Rs 20-25 crores each to defect from AAP and join the BJP.
This accusation surfaces on the same day when Sushil Kumar Rinku, a Member of Parliament representing Jalandhar in Punjab, and Sheetal Angural, an MLA from Jalandhar West, joined the BJP in the national capital. Their induction into the saffron party happened in the presence of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and National General Secretary Vinod Tawde.
During the AAP press conference, all three party leaders asserted that they had been contacted by individuals associated with the BJP who proposed substantial sums of money in exchange for switching their allegiances. They even provided the phone numbers from which these calls were made. Notably, one of the numbers traced back to Cyprus, as stated by one of the MLAs during the press conference.
The AAP leaders said that such tactics used by the BJP exemplified their attempts to secure a majority without relying on the democratic process of winning elections.
Meanwhile, after joining the saffron camp, Sushil Kumar Rinku said it is true that the promises he made to the people were not fulfilled because the party did not support him.
"It is true that the promises I made to the people of Jalandhar were not fulfilled because my party (AAP) did not support me. I am impressed with the working style of PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah," ANI quoted Rinku as saying.