Many Delhi leaders are resentful of Kiran Bedi's induction before the assembly polls
After firmly being cautioned to watch what he says, the BJP's Manoj Tiwari, one of the party's seven lawmakers from Delhi, has said that his remarks about new recruit Kiran Bedi were not meant as criticism. (
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"When you join a party, you should act and be like one of us, shouldn't act differently, that's all I meant," Mr Tiwari said today. His clarification was allegedly ordered by the party's top leadership. (
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Earlier today, Mr Tiwari, 43, told NDTV that a "thanedaar" or policeman was not welcome. "I didn't like the way she spoke to BJP workers a few days ago. She should be humble, she has been brought on as a BJP worker. She is not the Chief Ministerial candidate so far." (
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BJP's Lok Sabha MP for the North Delhi Constituency, Manoj Tiwari, said former IPS officer Kiran Bedi should behave humbly."Reports of dissent are exaggerated," said Ms Bedi in an interview to NDTV today. But the party has yet to declare any candidate apart from her for the election - with less than three weeks to go for voting, that's being seen as a sign of deep internal rivalries.
Ms Bedi, 65, whose sterling career as a senior police officer earned her nationwide recognition, has spent much of her recent time on activism. On Thursday, she joined the BJP just in time for next month's election in the capital. The five-star welcome accorded to her by BJP Chief Amit Shah and speculation that she will be pitched as the Chief Ministerial candidate against Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has reportedly left top Delhi leaders of the BJP deeply disgruntled. (
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Ms Bedi has said she will accept whatever task or role the party assigns to her, and that she is willing to run against Mr Kejriwal. In 2011, the pair were the closest advisers to Anna Hazare who was the fulcrum of the India Against Corruption movement, a campaign that brought together activists who roused middle class India into demanding more accountability and transparency through new anti-graft laws.