New Delhi:
Anti-corruption activist and newly-turned politician Arvind Kejriwal today hijacked a protest by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and turned his crusade against the party, while protesting against inflated power bills in Delhi.
The BJP's protest was also on the same issue and at the same venue as Mr Kejriwal's; in front of the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) offices in south Delhi.
Mr Kejriwal took over the stage from Delhi BJP leader Vijay Goel and straightaway accused the party of being complicit with the ruling Congress in helping private power distribution companies of over-charging consumers.
He claimed that the BJP knew of the DERC's order to the Sheila Dikshit government to reduce power bills by at least 25 per cent. "Ask Vijay Goel, didn't the BJP know that the Sheila Dikshit government supressed the order...Why didn't they stall Assembly on this issue?" he asked BJP supporters who had gathered there.
"We are not with the Congress or the BJP," Mr Kejriwal also said. He has often been criticised for targetting only the ruling Congress.
Over the weekend, he accused Congress president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Rober Vadra of being involved in shady land deals with real-estate giant DLF.
In response, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari had called Mr Kejriwal as BJP's "B-team". The activist has rejected this allegation.
His hijacking of the BJP's protest today, though, has left Mr Goel rattled. "Mr Kejriwal has just formed a party, we already have one. We welcome anyone who speaks on the issue of electricity," Mr Goel said to recover from the ambush.
Mr Kejriwal is believed to be aiming at the assembly elections in Delhi next year. He had announced the launch of his party last week, though it is yet to be named and registered. Analysts have pointed out that his anti-corruption plank could hurt the BJP and eat into its space as the main opposition.
On Saturday, Mr Kejriwal and his supporters re-connected the power supply of a house whose electricity had been cut off. He claimed the house was that of a "poor labourer" who had been sent a bill in excess of Rs 15,000. On Sunday, he did the same at another home, where a man died of a heart attack allegedly after a raid by electricity officials, although all dues had been cleared. Mr Kejriwal and his supporters also burnt electricity bills yesterday in protest and have threatened to cut off power to Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's residence.
The state's power minister, Haroon Yusuf, has compared Mr Kejriwal to Hitler.