Claiming that there was complete unanimity within its own ranks on wanting fresh elections, the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of running away from constitutional propriety and public opinion to satiate “lust for power at any cost”.
Several party leaders reacted to Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung’s report sent to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission to call on the BJP to take a shot at power even though the current Assembly standings are clear that it does not enjoy a majority in the House.
The party also reiterated that given that no group had the numbers to form the government, any effort to prove majority will involve horse trading of MLAs.
On his twitter handle, party leader Yogendra Yadav wrote: “Constitutional offices are dragging our democracy backwards. Welcome back to ‘achchhe din’ when MLAs were bought and sold.” He also wrote that the recent developments have thrown India back to the 1980s and ’90s when there was no anti-defection law.
“Has Mr. Jung received a support letter where the BJP has given evidence of how many MLAs back them? If not, it is an open invitation for buying support,” Mr. Yadav alleged.
AAP approaches PresidentIt is also learnt that the party approached President Pranab Mukherjee seeking an appointment with him. An AAP source said Rashtrapati Bhavan is expected to respond to the request in a day or two.
The source refused to comment whether the party would parade its MLAs before the President during the meeting or it would only take place between Mr. Mukherjee and the AAP’s top brass.
Asked if was there a possibility of both the AAP and the Congress writing jointly to either the President or the L-G demanding fresh elections, an AAP leader said it was not likely. This, he said, was because Congress leaders have spoken in different voices on the issue.
