File photo: Arvind Kejriwal
MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party, led by its National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, today met President Pranab Mukherjee and demanded the dissolution of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and fresh polls in the national capital.
The party, in a memorandum to the President, has alleged that the BJP has approached 15 of its MLAs in the last few days.
"They have been luring them with ministerial berths, properties and cash ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 20 crore. When this did not work out, our MLA from Shalimar Bagh, Bandana Kumari, was given a life threat. She has already filed a police complaint in this regard," Kejriwal said in the memorandum.
He said that people had high hopes from the NDA government but in the last one month, however, the hopes of the people have been shattered because the prices of almost all commodities have been rising.
"No steps have been taken to check corruption and no steps have been taken so far which could give people a hope that things would improve in future.
"This has severely dented BJP's popularity, due to which it does not want elections in Delhi in the near future. They are afraid that if elections are held in the near future, the BJP would lose very badly. Therefore, the BJP is making desperate attempts to poach MLAs from other parties," he added.
Meanwhile, the Congress has termed Kejriwal's meeting with the President as a drama.
"We have no problems with the elections happening any time soon in Delhi but it is not our priority. It is Kejriwal who wants to gain power in the state by any means," Delhi Pradesh Congress Commitee spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said.