NEW DELHI: Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav on April 25 mocked Arvind Kejriwal saying a “few people” will raise a hue and cry alleging “manipulation” of EVMs after the municipal poll results.
Yadav made the remarks at the convention of Swaraj India where the fledgling party revealed its future course of action while acknowledging that its maiden electoral performance is likely to be “disappointing”.
It comes a day after Chief Minister Kejriwal threatened to launch a mass movement if the exit poll results, that have predicted a BJP sweep of all the three corporations, come true.
“Few people will raise a hue and cry after the poll results come out. They will pin the entire blame on EVMs (electronic voting machines). So, firstly the people reject you and then you say it is all because of the EVMs. We will not do anything of this sort,” Yadav said.
Co-founder of the party, Prashant Bhushan, said Swaraj India will help people realize the dream of alternative politics that they had associated with the Aam Aadmi Party at one point.
He stressed on the need to take positions on crucial issues confronting the country like Maoism and went on to cite the massacre of 25 CRPF jawans in Sukma.
“What is the root cause? Who are these Maoists? What has the State done in the villages? Is there any link between the two? It is very easy to condemn the incident and move on. It should indeed be condemned. But one needs to go to the depth of the issue,” the activist-lawyer said.
Yadav and Bhushan, who happen to be the founding members of AAP, were expelled from the Kejriwal-led party after the 2015 assembly polls on charges of “anti-party activities”.
At the convention, the party’s patron Shanti Bhushan claimed there will be assembly polls in Delhi this year. “Mark my words,” he said.
He said Centre holds the power to dismiss the state governments citing “unconstitutional work” and in case of the AAP government the Shunglu panel has pointed out several such instances.
Yadav appealed to the candidates and the supporters of Swaraj India to accept the mandate with humility and focus on organization building.
“We will form Swaraj Kendras across all the 272 wards of the national capital. For us, politics will be 24X7, it will not begin or end with elections,” he said.
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