New Delhi: In a bid to battle the troubles brewing within the Aam Aadmi Party, party leader Sanjay Singh on Thursday admitted meeting ex-Congress MLA Asif Mohammed Khan, but tried to embroil the Bharatiya Janata Party in the whole controversy.
Khan had yesterday claimed that he was working as a mediator between AAP and Congress.
In late 2014 (during President's Rule in Delhi), Khan claimed holding meetings with Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, and said that senior AAP leaders had approached him to explore their party's alliance with Congress.
Responding to Khan's allegations, Singh said the former Congress MLA told him that he had a meeting with BJP leader and Union Surface Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari. The BJP had offered ministry to Congress MLAs, Khan allegedly told Singh.
When queried about an audio tape which surfaced on Wednesday in which party convenor Arvind Kejriwal is purportedly heard seeking to engineer defections in the Congress to form the government in 2014, Singh said that even if it is assumed that the tape is authentic, "where does it suggest horse-trading?"
"Where in the tape did Arvind offer money?," asked Singh.
In the meantime, another AAP leader Ashutosh said the party refused to give tickets to Rajesh Garg and Rajeev because they were blackmailers.
Commenting on Anjali Damania, who quit the party yesterday, Ashutosh said the Maharashtra social activist tendered her resignation out of emotional outburst.
Damania quit the party after the audio sting on Kejriwal surfaced.
The Aam Aadmi Party had yesterday dismissed the audio tape, saying it was an attempt to defame the party.
In the tape, the authenticity of which could not be ascertained, Kejriwal is allegedly heard telling former party legislator Rajesh Garg to try to break six Congress lawmakers as the party was not ready to again support the AAP to form the government in Delhi.
Garg told reporters that the conversation between him and Kejriwal took place sometime in July-August 2014.
Kejriwal had resigned on February 14, 2014 after 49 days in power over the inability to pass an anti-graft bill in the Delhi Assembly.
The AAP, which now rules Delhi, had won 28 seats in the 2013 elections and the Congress with eight seats had extended support to it from outside.
The Bharatiya Janata Party had emerged as the single largest party in the 2013 election winning 31 seats.
