AAP dinner collects Rs 50 lakh, Kejriwal quizzed about attack on media

BANGALORE: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal faced questions about his controversial remarks on the media at the party's Rs 20,000-per person fund-raising dinner here that yielded Rs 50 lakh.
The dinner, organised last night during Kejriwal's two-day visit to the city to drum-up support for the nascent party, was attended by around 200 people, AAP leaders said.

The event was an initiative by a group called "Well wishers of AAP" co-ordinated by former Infosys board member and party candidate from Bangalore Central constituency V Balakrishnan with an intention to raise fund for the party in a "transparent manner".

"Around 200 people attended the dinner. We have gathered about Rs 50 lakh," C N Radhakrishnan, a member of "Well wishers of AAP" told PTI.

"A few people had pledged support to us but could not attend the event... they will be sending in their contributions soon," he added.

In what was said to be an interactive session, Kejriwal's recent salvo against the media was a hot topic among the attendees, who quizzed the former Delhi Chief Minister over the issue.

Naina P Nayak, AAP's candidate from Bangalore South who was part of the dinner event, said, "It was a great event, it was completely interactive session, people asked him all kind of questions and pointed out some errors too."

"People asked him about his recent comments about media. Kejriwal sought to clarify his comment and tried to make them understand what he really meant....," Nayak said without elaborating.

"His resignation as Delhi Chief Minister was another hot topic. A few had some reservations on the way he resigned," she added. As he launched his roadshow here yesterday, Kejriwal, unfazed by the criticism of his attack on media, fired yet another salvo, questioning whether the media had the courage to show the "true story" about Narendra Modi's Gujarat.

He accused the media of not bringing out the "truth" about the Gujarat Chief Minister before the people.

Kejriwal had sparked a controversy with his remarks that the whole media is "sold out" and media people would be sent to jail after an inquiry into the issue if AAP comes to power.

Another major highlight for the audience was dance performance by a young group with broomstick (AAP's election symbol), conveying the message that their motto was to wipe out corruption from the country.

The AAP leader came on a two-day visit to Bangalore and Chikkaballapur yesterday. The party seeks to vie with the ruling Congress, BJP and JDS for its own space in a state, where it is mainly a two-way race in the Lok Sabha polls between the first two players.

In the 2009 polls, BJP walked away with 19 seats and Congress secured six seats, while former Prime Minister H D Devegowda's JDS finished third with three seats.

AAP is contesting all 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka. Kejriwal held a roadshow in Bangalore yesterday, covering all the three Lok Sabha constituencies of Bangalore South, Bangalore Central and Bangalore North, all held by BJP.

Karnataka is among the top four states in terms of offering donation to AAP.

According to AAP data, Rs 76.68 lakh was donated from Karnataka, making it the fourth highest after Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.