A vote of confidence, proposed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, will be tabled in the house today amid claims that the BJP was trying to topple the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital.
The AAP national convener also alleged that the BJP had targeted 40 AAP MLAs and offered Rs 20 crore to each of them to switch sides.
BJP leaders alleged that CM Arvind Kejriwal has been making claims about alleged attempts to poach AAP MLAs since his party contested the Delhi assembly elections in 2013. The AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly, while the BJP has eight.
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10 latest updates on AAP's vote of confidence in Delhi Assembly:
1. The vote of confidence was proposed by Arvind Kejriwal to prove that there was no defection in his party, after he made a scathing attack on the BJP claiming that his legislators were offered ₹ 20 crore each by the party for switching sides.
2. His deputy Manish Sisodia had claimed that the BJP had offered to "shut all cases" against him if he quit the AAP and crossed over. He holds the excise portfolio and is an accused in the FIR registered by the CBI, had also claimed that he was offered the chief minister's post by the BJP for switching sides.
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3. "I have heard they are trying to bribe 40 MLAs to cross over. I am happy that not a single MLA has given in," Mr Kejriwal had said after visiting Rajghat.
4. Mr Kejriwal said he went to Rajghat along with his MLAs to "pray for the failure of the BJP's Operation Lotus". AAP has accused the BJP of plotting an "Operation Lotus" to bring down its government in the pattern of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
5. Last week, Arvind Kejriwal led prayers at the Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat along with his party MLAs, followed by a meeting at his residence that was attended by 53 of AAP's 62 MLAs in Delhi, while others joined virtually.
6. The CBI recently raided Mr Sisodia in a case related to alleged irregularities and corruption in Delhi's liquor policy which was introduced earlier this year and then rolled back. Mr Sisodia is number one on a list of 15 accused named in the CBI's FIR on liquor policy violations. The Enforcement Directorate has also filed a money laundering case against him.
7. The FIR is based on a reference from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who had accused AAP of bringing the Excise Policy "with the sole aim" of benefiting private liquor barons for financial benefits to "individuals at the highest echelons of the government. Mr Saxena has alleged various discrepancies in the functioning of the Delhi government. The AAP in turn has accused him of working on the directions of the centre to derail its development projects.
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8. The BJP has denied AAP's allegations, accusing it of trying to divert attention from the corruption in its government. The party also dismissed AAP's claim of being the main challenger to the BJP in the 2024 general election, saying, AAP made tall claims earlier too but could not stand before PM Modi."
9. AAP has said that the 2024 general election is set to be a contest between Mr Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the BJP of misusing central agencies to stop the AAP leader, who is gaining popularity for the party's "commendable" work in the education and health sector.
10. AAP has 62 MLAs in the 70-member Delhi assembly. The BJP has eight and needs 28 more for a majority as per the NDTV reports.
