New Delhi, Nov 17 (PTI) In a jolt to AAP ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, senior leader and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party on Sunday, alleging "political ambitions" have overtaken its commitment towards people. "Instead of fighting for people's rights we have increasingly only been fighting for our own political agenda," the 50-year-old said in his resignation letter to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal. Gahlot, a prominent Jat leader in the party, also took a jab at Kejriwal as he flagged some "awkward" and "embarrassing" controversies like 'sheeshmahal', saying it makes everyone doubt if "we still believe in being 'Aam Aadmi'".
The BJP had dubbed Kejriwal's former official residence 6 Flagstaff Road as 'sheeshmahal', alleging that he spent crores on luxury items and modern facilities. Gahlot also spoke out against the Delhi government spending "the majority of its time fighting with the Centre" and the failure to clean the Yamuna River. AAP leaders said Gahlot was facing ED and CBI probes and had no option but to join the BJP.
They alleged it was a "dirty political conspiracy" of the BJP which was "misusing" central agencies. "Pressure was created on Kailash Gahlot through ED and CBI raids, and now he is speaking according to the BJP's script," AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh told reporters. The BJP said that Gahlot quit the party like several others in the past because AAP has moved away from the values it once stood for to serve the intere.
