Kejriwal must clarify on Kumar Vishwas' statement: Kharge

New Delhi, Feb 17 (IANS) Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge of the Congress, on Wednesday sought clarification from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on a statement made by former AAP member Kumar Vishwas, terming it as very sensitive.

Vishwas in an interview has spoken about his and Kejriwal's conversations during the 2017 Assembly elections in Punjab.

Vishwas had warned Kejriwal in 2017 against increasing Khalistani separatists. A complaint lodged in this connection by Congress leader Sandip Dikshit at a police station Mohali read that Kejriwal had ignored the warnings, and had said that he will manage them.

Kharge said, "Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal must clarify on the statement made by his party founder Kumar Vishwas. Punjab is a very sensitive state where maintaining peace is of paramount importance. Kejriwal must show maturity and sensitivity when talking about a border state like Punjab."

"Kejriwal accepted that he was in contact with separatists for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections in 2017," Dikshit said in his complaint.

It further said that Kejriwal did not express any opposition to the idea of Khalistan and instead supported it, stating that in the said case, "he will happily become the Prime Minister of an independent state of Khalistan".

"The statements were made with an intention to cause, or most likely to cause, fear or alarm within the public. In view of this, a case of sedition has been lodged against Kejriwal," Dikshit's complaint read.

Pertinently, no FIR was registered in connection with this till now.

Meanwhile, AAP leader Raghav Chadha refuted the allegations and lashed out at Vishwas for defaming and deriding Kejriwal.

"The malicious, unfounded, fabricated and inflammatory insinuations made by Vishwas are not only demonstrably defamatory, but are redolent of promoting hatred ill will, and hostility in the society, in particular against the AAP," Chadha said.