The Aam Aadmi Party today faced two-pronged attack from the opposition over Law Minister Jitender Singh Tomar's alleged fake law degree and a Delhi Police report indicting its volunteers for instigating farmer Gajendra Singh to commit suicide in a rally by the party.
While BJP, led by Delhi Chief Satish Upadhyay, protested outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding Tomar's dismissal, Congress mocked AAP for failing to live up to the standards of even a "students union" in organising the rally that saw farmer's death.
However, the beleaguered ruling party of Delhi, went on the offensive accusing the Centre of using police as a "political weapon" to settle scores and sought to defend Tomar saying there was no pending "investigation" against him.
"Delhi Government has fooled the people of Delhi. The way in which a minister of the Delhi government is sitting with a fake degree, we have no option but to come out on the roads in this heat. We may also take legal recourse and if needed, also lodge an FIR in this connection," Upadhyay said.
Senior Congress leader and former Minister Kiran Walia made a snide remark at the party saying "all their (AAP's) Law Ministers were very good at breaking laws".
A senior AAP leader retorted, "The matter is sub-judice then why the hullabaloo? He has already elaborated his stand yesterday. Action will definitely be taken against him if the allegations are proved but why will he resign considering there are no pending investigations against him."
Walia also took a dig at AAP over the suicide by a farmer during a party rally saying, "The party holds rally with no arrangements. They can't behave like a students' union. Even students' union does it better".
In its preliminary report to Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Delhi Police has accused the state government of trying to delay the post-mortem of the deceased and blamed AAP workers of instigating Singh to take the extreme step.
AAP spokesperson Deepak Bajpai called the report "concocted" and said police was being used as a "political weapon". He said under Section 174 of CrPC, police can carry out post-mortem without government's permission.
