AAP ministers take cars, refuse red beacons
4 Jan 2014 6:07 AM IST
Clarifying his stand on the use of official vehicles by his ministers, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal reiterated his commitment to eliminate VIP culture from politics.
‘We never said anything about not using cars. We said we will not use red beacon cars,’ said Kejriwal when informed that his ministers were using official cars but not the public transport. The three ministers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government - Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Rakhi Birla - used government Innova cars earlier allocated to former ministers in the previous Congress government. The ministers were earlier using public transport to travel to Delhi assembly and Delhi Secretariat. The cars used by the ministers on Friday didn’t have beacons, but VIP numbers.
Kejriwal also clarified his stand on the use of the bungalows allotted to him. ‘There are two flats with five bedrooms each. We will only be staying in one. The other will be the office. I can work early morning and late night there,’ said Kejriwal. ‘Now, I will live with my family in the five bedroom house. Earlier, I was living in a four bedroom apartment, that’s the only difference,’ he added.
Kejriwal, who has been operating from his residence in suburban Ghaziabad since being elected as Delhi’s chief minister, said, ‘We will now soon move to a 5-bedroom duplex house on Bhagwan Das Road in the heart of Delhi.
Kejriwal also stood by the his earlier stance of holding an open session of Delhi assembly at Ramlila Maidan to pass the Janlokpal Bill.’ However, the Opposition refused to buy Kejriwal’s logic. ‘AAP leaders have been exposed. Their is nothing new in his politics, they are just puppets of Congress party which is ruling on their behalf,’ said Harsh Vardhan, leader of Opposition in Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
Akali Dal (Badal) MLA from Rajouri Garden Manjinder Singh Sirasa, however, went on to congratulate the ministers for their new cars.
‘There is no harm in using official cars but AAP leader should talk realistically,’ said Sirasa.
Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely and the lone independent MLA Rambir Shokeen refused to comment on the issue.
‘We never said anything about not using cars. We said we will not use red beacon cars,’ said Kejriwal when informed that his ministers were using official cars but not the public transport. The three ministers of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government - Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Rakhi Birla - used government Innova cars earlier allocated to former ministers in the previous Congress government. The ministers were earlier using public transport to travel to Delhi assembly and Delhi Secretariat. The cars used by the ministers on Friday didn’t have beacons, but VIP numbers.
Kejriwal also clarified his stand on the use of the bungalows allotted to him. ‘There are two flats with five bedrooms each. We will only be staying in one. The other will be the office. I can work early morning and late night there,’ said Kejriwal. ‘Now, I will live with my family in the five bedroom house. Earlier, I was living in a four bedroom apartment, that’s the only difference,’ he added.
Kejriwal, who has been operating from his residence in suburban Ghaziabad since being elected as Delhi’s chief minister, said, ‘We will now soon move to a 5-bedroom duplex house on Bhagwan Das Road in the heart of Delhi.
Kejriwal also stood by the his earlier stance of holding an open session of Delhi assembly at Ramlila Maidan to pass the Janlokpal Bill.’ However, the Opposition refused to buy Kejriwal’s logic. ‘AAP leaders have been exposed. Their is nothing new in his politics, they are just puppets of Congress party which is ruling on their behalf,’ said Harsh Vardhan, leader of Opposition in Delhi Vidhan Sabha.
Akali Dal (Badal) MLA from Rajouri Garden Manjinder Singh Sirasa, however, went on to congratulate the ministers for their new cars.
‘There is no harm in using official cars but AAP leader should talk realistically,’ said Sirasa.
Congress leader Arvinder Singh Lovely and the lone independent MLA Rambir Shokeen refused to comment on the issue.
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