AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in Amethi.
Aam Aadmi Party's Arvind Kejriwal today warned the people of Amethi that they would be "betraying" the country if they vote for either the Congress or the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr Kejriwal's strong remarks came exactly five days before Amethi goes to polls. His close aide Kumar Vishwas is the AAP's candidate from a constituency which has come to be regarded as a Gandhi family bastion. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has been representing Amethi in the Lok Sabha since 2004, but faces a tough contest this time. The BJP has fielded TV actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani.
"Agar ek bhi vote Congress aur BJP ko pada to aap Khuda aur desh ke saath gaddari kar rahe hain (Even if you cast a single vote for either the Congress or the BJP, then you are betraying God and the country," Mr Kejriwal said while campaigning for his party in Amethi today.
Mr Vishwas has been camping in the constituency since January this year to mobilise popular support for his Lok Sabha bid. This is Mr Kejiriwal's second trip to Amethi in less than a month to campaign for his colleague, and his endeavor once again was to project Congress and the BJP as two sides of the same coin.
"The BJP has put up its candidate here to cut into Vishwas' votes. Why do you think they put up Ms Irani? They want Mr Gandhi to win. He is their joint candidate," he told Amethi voters.
The former Delhi chief minister dared Mr Gandhi to have a debate with Mr Vishwas. "If he comes it would be great, but if he doesn't dare to come because of paucity of time, then I welcome Priyanka Gandhi for an open debate," Mr Kejriwal said.
He claimed that the Congress had conceded defeat in Amethi. "For the first time ever, Sonia Gandhi came and addressed a rally here...Priyanka has been here for the past 14 days. It shows they are worried," he said.