In a fresh blow to Arvind Kejriwal in the midst of his electoral battle with Narendra Modi in Varanasi, AAP’s National Council member Maulana Maqsood Ali Kazmi on Monday quit the party, levelling a series of allegations against the leadership.
Singing the tune of many rebels and dissidents, Kazmi fired a salvo at the leadership, alleging that the party has being taken over by 4—5 people and that it was only targeting Mukesh Ambani led-Reliance Industries.
“The party is being hijacked by 4—5 people who are calling the shots. Rich and corporate people have been given ticket during the Lok Sabha election and many candidates were parachuted,” Kazmi told a press conference where he also announced his resignation from the party.
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“Why was ticket given to Gul Panag, Meera Sanyal, Ashutosh, whose father was associated with the RSS, and Raj Mohan Gandhi. (Referring to Gandhi) Didn’t they find any better candidate in the constituency of over 16 lakh people,” he asked.
Kazmi, who claims that he was a part of the rule committee of the party, alleged that Prashant Bhushan was only targeting the Reliance Industries at the behest of another industrial house.
“Why is the party and Prashant Bhushan only targeting Mukesh Ambani and not other business houses. Why can't Kejriwal disclose who is paying his 6000 volunteers. He was working for the Tatas from 1989 to 1992 and he is not talking about the Tatas even when their names surfaced in Nira Radia tapes,” Kazmi said.
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He also alleged that Kejriwal had met top Naxal leaders and the party had given ticket to Naxalites. However, when asked to provide details about the same, Kazmi said, “He had mentioned about this during a party meeting.”
Kazmi added that Kejriwal had not spoken on the Muzaffarnagar riots, neither has he taken any action against Kumar Vishwas, known to be a RSS sympathiser, he alleged.
Incidentally, another National Council member Ashwini Upadhya also made similar allegations, but was sacked by the party this month.