MLAs are 'sold and purchased' in Madhya Pradesh, claims Kejriwal

Bhopal, March 14 (IANS) Taking a dig at both the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress in Madhya Pradesh, AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said legislators are "sold and bought" in the central Indian state.

Addressing a gathering here at Dussehra Ground, Kejriwal appealed to the people to give a chance to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Madhya Pradesh.

"Had the BJP wanted to bring change to the lives of people in Madhya Pradesh, it could have done that... 20 years are enough to work. But in the long tenure of Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Madhya Pradesh witnessed one after another scam. This is what the BJP has done in the last 20 years," Kejriwal said.

Besides, his "selling and purchasing of legislators" remark was in connection with the political developments in March 2020 when Jyotiraditya Scindia along with 22 Congress MLAs had switched to the BJP, toppling the Kamal Nath-led Congress government.

Since then, the Congress has been accusing the BJP as well as Scindia of "purchasing MLAs".

Kejriwal also accused the BJP's central leadership of threatening Opposition leaders to either switch to the saffron party or face imprisonment over corruption charges.

The Delhi Chief Minister alleged that "the BJP is operating like the villains of the old Bollywood films where the goons used to threaten honest police officers to take bribes and ignore the crime, or die".

Kejriwal, along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, addressed a rally of party workers amid AAP's attempt to expand its base in Madhya Pradesh.

The Assembly polls are scheduled to be held later this year. The party has already announced that it would contest in all 230 constituencies in the state.