Rohtak: Arvind Kejriwal kept up his attack on BJP's prime ministerial candidate
Narendra Modi over the controversial gas pricing issue as his Aam Aadmi Party today launched its campaign for the Lok Sabha polls, due by May, in Haryana. Slamming Mr Modi yet again for his silence over his links to Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani, the AAP chief accused the Gujarat Chief Minister of favouring the billionaire businessman.
"Mukesh Ambani has Modi in one pocket and Rahul Gandhi in the other... He can allow Modi to have a five-year term and also give Rahul Gandhi five years to rule," Mr Kejriwal said, also targeting the Congress Vice President whose party, he alleges, favoured Mr Ambani as part of the impending hike in gas price.
The AAP leader has also aggressively targeted the BJP, even writing to Mr Modi on Friday to "clear his stand" on the matter.
(Read)A First Information Report or FIR was filed against Mr Ambani, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and other policy-makers of creating an artificial shortage of gas in the country and raising its prices on the orders of Mr Kejriwal before he resigned as Delhi chief minister last week.
In his 45-minute speech at the rally in Rohtak, his first after quitting as Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Kejriwal also questioned the source of funding for the election campaigns of Mr Modi and Mr Gandhi.
The AAP leader also challenged Mr Modi to bring back black money stashed away in Swiss accounts. The issue of black money, along with corruption, has been one of the key agendas in BJP's campaign as it readies for national elections.
The 45-year-old taxman-turned-activist-turned-politician also launched a blistering attack on Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, calling him a "property dealer", referring to the multiple land scams in the state, most notable those revolving around businessman and Congress President Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.