Arvind Kejriwal denies rift within party, says will invite Anna Hazare for swearing-in ceremony

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday managed to keep his political outfit intact and denied reports of rift by saying that a key party MLA Vinod Kumar Binny is not upset with his decision to allocate Cabinet berth to a few elected leaders. "Binny is not miffed, he met me Tuesday evening at my residence and told me that he has not joined the party for any post, but to accomplish a mission," Kejriwal said. "Binny even spoke to the media and clarified that he is not upset," the AAP chief said. On being asked about Congress spokesperson` Janardhan Dwivedi admission that a section of its leaders are divided over giving support to AAP, Kejriwal said, "It is Congress` internal problem not his party`s." In an apparent dig at the BJP and the Congress, Kejrwial said that AAP had contested the election on issues, and thus, it will place all 18 issues raised by the party in the Delhi Assembly amid hope that all MLAs, irrespective of which party they belong, would support those in the best interest of people here. When asked about how long will it take to reduce the electricity bills and providing free water to Delhiites, Kejrwial replied that homework is being done on the discoms issue and will soon be implemented. On the issue of providing water, he said that 700 litres water will be given immediately as soon as the party attains power. However, the AAP chief said that there are some areas in Delhi where some arrangements need to be made for suppling water regularly and this may take some time. On the issue of Swaraj and Lokpal, Kejriwal stressed, "As per country`s Constitution Delhi can make its own law, but Centre has recently passed an order, which requires Delhi government to take permission from the Centre before doing so, so we need to see this issue." Replying to a quetion whether he would invite his `guru` Anna Hazare for swearing-in ceremony, Kejriwal said, "As soon the date is finalised, he would himself try to talk to Anna and invite him." On his reported swearing-in ceremony on December 26, Kejriwal said nothing is sure as of now as Lt Governor Najeeb Jung has yet not given a call and confirmed him. Kejriwal on Tuesday held wide-ranging consultations on government formation after which his party named its probable ministers. The AAP sent the names of six ministers - Manish Sisodia, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Somnath Bharti, Rakhi Birla, Satyendra Jain and Girish Soni to Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. The AAP staked claim to form the government in Delhi after the BJP decided against it. AAP won 28 seats, the BJP 31 and the Congress eight in the December assembly polls. AAP was born out of the anti-corruption movement in 2012.