AAP's Balbir Jakhar dismisses son's claim that he paid Rs 6 crore to Arvind Kejriwal for ticket

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Balbir Singh Jakhar on Saturday dismissed his son's allegation that the former had paid Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Rs six crore for a ticket for the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat. Addressing a press conference, Balbir condemned the allegations, adding that he has never discussed anything about his candidature with his son, Uday. He also added that he rarely speaks with Uday.

Balbir clarified that Uday stays with his wife since birth, adding that he divorced his wife in 2009. "I condemn the allegations. I have never discussed with my son anything about my candidature. I speak to him very rarely. He stays at his maternal parents' home from the time of his birth and I divorced my wife in 2009. She stayed with me for only 6-7 months. His custody was granted to my wife after the divorce," said Balbir.

Earlier, Uday had alleged that his father had paid the hefty amount to CM Kejriwal and Gopal Rai in exchange for the ticket. "My father joined politics about three months ago. He had paid Arvind Kejriwal Rs 6 crore for a ticket. I have credible evidence that he had paid for this ticket," Uday was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. 

All the allegations against me are baseless. I have never met or interacted with my son in the recent past. This an attempt to tarnish my image just before the polls : @bsjakharaap pic.twitter.com/bmSA5NVDJE — AAP (@AamAadmiParty) May 11, 2019

"Why was my father, who was not even part of the Anna Hazare movement, given a ticket by the AAP?" he asked and added that an ametuer politician getting a ticket was "surprising."

"When I asked money for my education, he wasn’t ready to do so. He said he will use the money for his own political benefits. But another surprising factor is he was ready to use that money for bail of Yashpal and Sajjan Kumar (involved in the Sikh riot case). He was willing to bail them out of court and was ready to fight a case for them,” Uday added.

He further said that an "irresponsible act has been committed by the leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, who bought himself with a clean image but has maligned himself by aligning himself with my father”.

Delhi goes to polls on Sunday during the sixth phase of Lok Sabha election.