Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday told the Election Commission that his comments asking voters to take bribe from other parties and vote for him were being “read out of context”.
In a letter to the EC a day after it issued a fresh show cause notice for his statements allegedly asking voters to “take bribe from the BJP and the Congress and vote for the AAP”, Mr. Kejriwal said: “What I meant in my speech was accept the money, but don’t vote for those who give bribes. This way, I am helping root out corruption by discouraging bribery.”
He observed that offers of money and other things during elections have become an “integral” part of the country’s politics. “It can’t be denied that many leaders and parties buy votes by distributing money and other things. It has become an integral part of our country’s politics.”
Mr. Kejriwal also requested the EC to provide him an opportunity to appear in person before the panel if it disagrees with his pleas. The EC had asked him to respond to the notice by 11 a.m. on January 27. It has already censured him for his reported remarks that the BJP was inciting communal riots in parts of Delhi. — PTI
