New Delhi: Reacting sharply to Arvind
Kejriwal`s letter along with a cheque to Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, Congress on Thursday described it as "insulting" to
the top office and said the former revenue officer should have
written to his immediate senior officer on this issue.
"Kejriwal writting his letter to Prime Minister is
insulting the office of the Prime Minister. I don`t know what
designation Kejriwal held when he was in service. He should
have written to his immediate superior officer in government
who would have been the competent authority to take note of
it," party spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters here.
Returning over Rs nine lakh in dues to settle the issue
of his resignation from the IRS, Kejriwal had sent a cheque of
Rs 9,27,787 along with a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh asking him not to trouble his friends who had given him
an interest-free loan to settle the dues.
Alvi also took a jibe at former IPS officer Kiran Bedi,
another Team Anna member, saying that tomorrow she may also
write to the Prime Minister after returning the excess amount
she has taken from the NGOs.
Asked about Anna Hazare`s `maun vrat`, the Congress
spokesperson said Hazare must have taken his vow of silence to
avoid uncomfortable questions surrounding the recent conduct
of some of his team members.
"He possibly kept the vow of silence because he was upset
over his own colleagues` actions. I am sure he went on the
‘maun vrat’ because it was difficult to answer questions on the
recent actions by his team members."
"One of the team members says there should be a
plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, the other travels in economy
class but charges additional amount from NGOs, and the third
declares an individual is above Constitution. It is indeed
difficult to answer questions on these issues," Alvi said.
Raising questions over the scheduled appearance of
Prashant Bhushan before the Parliamentary Standing Committee
on Lokpal tomorrow, Alvi said, "Team Anna should clarify their
stand on the issue because Bhushan is appearing before the
Standing Committee on their behalf."
Alvi said Bhusan`s statement that there should be a
plebiscite in Kashmir not only goes against India`s stand but
also supports that of Pakistan on J&K, which no countryman
will tolerate as all Indians are against such an exercise.
The Congress spokesperson at the same time said Anna
Hazare, as a citizen of the country, is very much entitled to
come here and appear before any committee.
In his letter to the PM, Kejriwal insisted that he was
doing so in protest and it did not mean he had accepted any
mistake.
Returning the dues "does not mean that I have accepted
the mistake. When I don`t know what was the mistake I
committed, then there is no question of accepting it," said
the 43-year-old activist in the letter.
Government has claimed that he had violated bond rules by
quitting the service before completing three years of service
after going on a study leave on full pay. However, Kejriwal
said he took non-paid leave and quit the service after serving
bond conditions.
PTI
