Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has unfortunately failed to live by the standards that he had set for himself by his silence on the ongoing controversy surrounding former IPL boss Lalit Modi.
"Everybody was expecting that the Prime Minister would break his silence on Lalit Gate. This Prime Minister is not Manmohan Singh. The India of July 2015 is not the India of July 2010, the standards of probity in public life have risen, and people expect greater transparency and accountability from public servants and people in power," Khetan told ANI.
"Unfortunately, today the Prime Minister failed to live by the standards he had set for himself and the standards he had espoused, he had promised he would set within his party and his government," he added.
The AAP leader also mounted pressure on Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje to step down from her post.
"When you have a chief minister who is giving on affidavit, that look my country is a banana republic, that my investigating agency are basically hounding a man who is a fugitive and when that chief minister also takes 31 crore rupees through dubious routes, from dubious companies, shell companies, established in Mauritius by a man called Lalit Modi. The question then arises is that does that chief minister have the moral authority to continue in power," Khetan said.
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"In the past chief ministers and ministers have resigned and have been forced to step down on charges far less serious on transgressions, far less serious. But the Prime Minister is trying to brazen it out, but is forgetting that the country has changed and people expect a Prime Minister who runs a transparent and honest government and not covers up or protects the misdeeds of his own ministers," he added.
Khetan also backed BJP stalwart Lal Krishna Advani's remark to target the ruling dispensation at the Centre.
"Well, Mr. L. K. Advani, the BJP patriarch in less than ten days has sent out two very strong messages.....First he said that look there are powers and forces in this country, which are authoritarian in nature, which are getting stronger and can be emergency," Khetan said.
"Yesterday, he said that during my time, when serious allegations and questions were raised about the integrity of people in power the norm was that you would step down and wait till we get a clean chit. But today I think what we see the norm is that use the investigating agencies. Use the state powers to cover up or to put a cut-in on your own crimes and hush-up your own crimes on one hand and use the investigating agencies to hound the opposition," he added.
Khetan further expressed hope that Prime Minister Modi pays heed to the words of wisdom and advice coming from the BJP patriarch.
Advani reportedly said in an interview earlier that political credibility was essential. He also said that the politicians must live up to the trust placed in them by the voters.
