Congress files complaint with EC against Kejriwal over 'bribe' remark

New Delhi: In more trouble for Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress on Monday approached the Election Commission and lodged a formal complaint against him for appealing to the people to accept money from rival parties and but cast their votes in favour of the AAP.

AICC general secretary Ajay Maken had told reporters yesterday that the party would seek legal opinion and meet the Election Commission against AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal for "insulting" the people of Delhi.

Congress also demanded an apology from Kejriwal to the people of Delhi after his controversial remarks on Sunday where he asked voters to take "bribes" from BJP and Congress but vote for AAP in the Assembly polls.

"Making such statements is illegal. It is like offering money to the people," Maken, who is campaign committee chief of the party in Delhi, said.

The Congress leader said that AAP was much ahead than its rivals in putting up posters and giant hoardings as also round-the-clock advertisements on the FM radio.

Kejriwal asked the voters to "fool" BJP and Congress by voting for AAP even after accepting "bribe money" from them while accusing the parties of "deceiving" the people for years.

"It's election time. When people both from BJP and Congress come offering money, don't refuse, accept... some have looted money from 2G, some have looted money from coal scam. And if any party does not show up, go to its office and take the amount saying we were waiting but you didn't come," Kejriwal said amid cheers from the crowd.

The former Delhi chief minister was speaking at a rally at west Delhi's Nawada area in support of AAP's Uttam Nagar Assembly candidate Naresh Balyan.

"Take money from both the parties but vote for AAP. We will fool them this time. They have been deceiving us for the last 65 years. Now it's our turn," he said.

Kejriwal also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that his Ramlila Maidan speech was a let down from which he had "high expectations". "I had high expectations from the Prime Minister's Ramlila Maidan rally speech. But it was such a let-down. He spent half the time branding me a Naxalite and criticising me for sitting in dharnas. This kind of politics is not good. Politics should rather be issued based," he said.

In an apparent reference to the recent religious conversion row and controversial remarks by certain BJP leaders and saffron outfits, the AAP supremo slammed the BJP for "ditching" its electoral plank of development.

"They used to speak of development. But they have ditched development for religious conversion. Now we also hear comments on Nathuram Godese's temples, women wearing jeans," Kejriwal said.