http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/delhi-elections-2015-kiran-bedi-to-make-better-chief-minister-than-arvind-kejriwal-says-aap-patron-shanti-bhushan/articleshow/45985690.cms
NEW DELHI: AAP has played down the statements made by its patron Shanti Bhushan on Thursday, a day after he came out in support of Kiran Bedi's elevation as the chief ministerial candidate of BJP.
All AAP leaders, including his son Prashant Bhushan, clarified that the party did not share Shanti Bhushan's view and maintained that Bedi's decision to join BJP was "opportunistic".
Unfazed by the dismissal of his remarks, Bhushan, on Thursday, went ahead and called for a "reorientation" within AAP saying all was not well in the party and it was not being run following its founding principles. He told news channels that the AAP chief had failed the party on candidate selection for Delhi polls and that Bedi would make a better CM than Kejriwal. He also said that Kejriwal should be replaced with a new leader.
ET was the first to report Bhushan's comments on Bedi's induction into BJP. "It's a masterstroke by the BJP to pitch her as a candidate because she has been a crusader against corruption just as Arvind (Kejriwal) has," the former union law minister had told ET in an interview on Tuesday. He said that Bedi, as the CM, would provide an honest government to Delhi.
Asked about Bhushan's praise for her, BJP's CM candidate simply thanked him and refused to comment further. Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal said: "It's a democracy and everybody has a right to express his feelings." Prashant Bhushan, on the other hand, distanced himself from his father's remarks and called Bedi opportunistic. "She did not want to enter politics at the time we decided to form a party. So why join BJP now?" he asked.
"This is Shantiji's personal view. I can't understand how Shantiji can possibly approve of Bedi joining a party that he calls communal even today. I do not agree with his assessment and the timing of his assessment. I don't think even Prashantji would agree with it," said AAP leader Yogendra Yadav.
NEW DELHI: AAP has played down the statements made by its patron Shanti Bhushan on Thursday, a day after he came out in support of Kiran Bedi's elevation as the chief ministerial candidate of BJP.
All AAP leaders, including his son Prashant Bhushan, clarified that the party did not share Shanti Bhushan's view and maintained that Bedi's decision to join BJP was "opportunistic".
Unfazed by the dismissal of his remarks, Bhushan, on Thursday, went ahead and called for a "reorientation" within AAP saying all was not well in the party and it was not being run following its founding principles. He told news channels that the AAP chief had failed the party on candidate selection for Delhi polls and that Bedi would make a better CM than Kejriwal. He also said that Kejriwal should be replaced with a new leader.
ET was the first to report Bhushan's comments on Bedi's induction into BJP. "It's a masterstroke by the BJP to pitch her as a candidate because she has been a crusader against corruption just as Arvind (Kejriwal) has," the former union law minister had told ET in an interview on Tuesday. He said that Bedi, as the CM, would provide an honest government to Delhi.
Asked about Bhushan's praise for her, BJP's CM candidate simply thanked him and refused to comment further. Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal said: "It's a democracy and everybody has a right to express his feelings." Prashant Bhushan, on the other hand, distanced himself from his father's remarks and called Bedi opportunistic. "She did not want to enter politics at the time we decided to form a party. So why join BJP now?" he asked.
"This is Shantiji's personal view. I can't understand how Shantiji can possibly approve of Bedi joining a party that he calls communal even today. I do not agree with his assessment and the timing of his assessment. I don't think even Prashantji would agree with it," said AAP leader Yogendra Yadav.
Arvind Kejriwal
ReplyDelete