AAP questions Rahul Gandhi on gas issue

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) has questioned the silence of Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi over the Reliance gas issue and also asked him whether he would give ticket to ministers who have corruption charges against them in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In a letter to Gandhi dated February 22, party's National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal launched an attack against the Congress leader saying, "Why are you and BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra) Modi quiet on this crucial issue. It is widely believed that if UPA comes to power you will become the Prime Minister.

"People say, no important decision is taken by the UPA government without asking your family. People want to know this from you whether you support the government's decision of Mukesh Ambani selling gas at 8 dollars per unit," Kejriwal said.

He also asked Gandhi whether Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, was funding the party for seeking favours in return from the government and when the AAP-led Delhi government ordered to register an FIR against Ambani and Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily over the issue, why did senior Congress members oppose the decision?

"People also say that the decision to double the gas price was taken just before the elections. Has Mukesh Ambani funded the party with unaccounted money for bagging some favours? If its not the case then what is it.

"When AAP-led government asked the Anti-Corruption Branch to lodge an FIR against Ambani, senior Congress and BJP leaders vehemently opposed. Do these parties have strong bond with Mukesh Ambani?" Kejriwal said in his letter.

The former Delhi Chief Minister also asked Gandhi whether the party would give Lok Sabha ticket to ministers against whom there are charges of allegedly indulging in corrupt practises.

"From time to time, your ministers like Moily, Salman Khurshid, Kamal Nath, P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal, had have been charged with corruption. Will your give them party ticket this time," the letter added.

Last week, the AAP had written a similar letter to BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and asked him to come clean over the issue.
Attacking Modi and Gandhi over the funding issue, Kejriwal raised questions over their usage of helicopters and spending crores of rupees in the election rallies.

"There are media reports about you and Modi using helicopters? Are these aircraft made available for free?

"There are also reports that crores of rupees are being spent on every election rally. People say that they are being funded by the media," he said.

Citing the Nira Radia tape conversations, Kejriwal claimed that Ambani interferered in allocation of ministry to a particular minister and also posting of a few bureaucrats.

"People say that Mukesh Ambani interfers in allocation of a ministries and in posting of few bureaucrats.

"Does Mukesh Ambani run the government?" Kejriwal asked, adding whether he (Gandhi) supports the government's decision of raising the gas price to 8 dollar per unit and would he revoke the decision of increasing the price?