Deeply hurt with Anna`s accusations, won`t use his name again: Kejriwal

Zee Media Bureau/Ritesh K Srivastava

New Delhi: Aam Admi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday clarified on the allegations made by his mentor and social activist Anna Hazare of misusing Lokpal campaign funds made and said he is ready for a public scrutiny on this matter. Talking to reporters a visibly upset Kejriwal admitted, "Yes, I am deeply hurt. I am very sad to see the video. Since these allegations have been made by Anna Hazare, who I regard as my menor, I want an open probe into this case." "We are ready for any probe, I have already said that I will not fight elections if found guilty. What else can I say after this," Kejriwal said. Calling the CD controversy a smear campaign by the Congress and the BJP, the AAP leader said, "We have challenged Robert Vadra, we have challenged Mukesh Amban, We have exposed Nitin Gadkari. They have all united now. It`s a Congress-BJP conspiracy. The two parties are trying to create differences between us and Anna ji." Referring to accusations of misusing Anna Hazare`s name for his poll campaign, Kejriwal maintained, "We have only said we will pass Anna`s Lokpal Bill if we are elected. We have never used Anna`s name. If this has hurt him, we will never use his name again." "I have always maintained this is not Anna`s party. Anna is not associated with it. We have told people during canvassing that we will pass Anna`s Jan Lokpal, as it is known," Kejriwal added. Talking about the AAP`s election manifesto, which the party is releasing today, Kejriwal said, "Our manifesto is a comprehensive document, prepared after months of talking to people. It represents the true aspiration of people in Delhi." When asked to react to claims made by Raju Parulekar, he said, "Who is he. There are lakhs of bloggers in India, anyone can say or write anything?" The clarification from Kejriwal came a day after a video footage, which showed Anna Hazare reprimanding him over the alleged misuse of Jan Lokpal funds, came to fore. However, Hazare later clarified that there is no rift between him and Kejriwal and he never called him corrupt.