Union Minister and former Delhi BJP chief Vijay Goel on Monday alleged that AAP had convened a meeting of over 300 Imams in Chandni Chowk and asked them to campaign for the party as its government had “raised their salaries”.
Mr. Goel claimed the meeting took place on May 4 and was attended by Delhi Cabinet Minister and local AAP legislator Imran Hussain apart from other leaders, including Amnatuallah Khan and Asim Ahmed.
“The party told the Imams that its government had hiked their salary and therefore, they should campaign in its favour. Later, a team of the Election Commission and the Delhi police raided the location of the meeting and collected evidence. I also have a video clip as proof,” Mr. Goel claimed.
“This is the reason people are deserting AAP. Mr. Kejriwal has moved away from the agenda of development and full statehood for Delhi and is resorting to the politics of slaps and religion,” Mr. Goel said, attacking the Delhi Chief Minister.
Mr. Goel took a dig at Mr. Kejriwal saying that he got slapped after the AAP’s East Delhi candidate Atishi, in a recent video clip, was seen asking people to “beat up the public representatives who do not work”.
“The Maoists, who cannot even get a vote in Delhi... The AAP is facilitating the entry of such people, like Jignesh Mevani and Kanhaiya Kumar, into politics,” Mr. Goel added.
Mr. Mevani is a lawmaker from Gujarat where he represents the Vadgam Assembly Constituency while former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar is contesting the Lok Sabha election as a CPI candidate from Begusarai.
The Delhi poll body, meanwhile, has found that AAP members attended a meeting without prior approval at a banquet hall in Matia Mahal to seek votes. It has issued a show-cause notice to the hall owner, asking if it was organised by AAP, officials said Monday.
The returning officer of Chandni Chowk has issued a show-cause notice to the banquet hall owner, seeking details about the meeting, the organisers and why was it organised without prior permission from the authorities, officials said.