: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Rakhi Bidlan’s birthday bash near her residence in North West Delhi’s Mongolpuri created controversy on Wednesday evening.
While a swanky new Scorpio, allegedly gifted to her by a local businessman on the occasion, raised questions on the common man image of the party, a scuffle broke out between AAP cadres and family members of a local resident, who was murdered recently.
According to a police source, the victim’s family was seeking access to AAP MLA Rituraj, whom television visuals showed dancing with Ms. Bidlan. The family alleged that he had been skirting meeting them at his local office despite repeated attempts since the murder was reported a week ago.
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“The MLA was at the party. The family of the victim, who was found murdered on April 11, wanted to meet him since he has been avoiding them for almost a week,” said a police official.
“However, some AAP workers, including Ms. Bidlan’s brother, restricted them from entering the venue which led to a minor altercation,” the official added.
The party struggled to explain its position on the SUV allegedly gifted to Ms. Bidlan. A senior party functionary quoted Ms. Bidlan’s brother claiming that the Scorpio was not gifted but had been “somehow procured by the family.”
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“He said that his family’s financial profile wasn’t amenable to seek a bank loan for the car. The vehicle was registered in the name of one of his friends, while most of the down payment for the car was provided by Ms. Bidlan’s mother, who is a maintenance worker at a government school. The first instalment is Rs. three lakh while the remaining Rs. eight lakh towards payment has been divided in EMIs,” the source said.
A senior AAP leader said, “Those who turned up outside the venue were against Mr. Rituraj’s actions against local betting syndicates. The car was not gifted to Rakhi and belongs to someone who wanted to click a picture of it with her.”