Stepping up attack on Kiran Bedi, AAP leader Kumar Viswas today accused her of trying to influence Team Anna against targeting BJP during the Lokpal movement on alleged graft while the party held her "soft stance towards BJP" for parting of ways with Arvind Kejriwal.
Viswas claimed Bedi attempted to influence AAP leaders including Kejriwal so as to ensure that alleged graft by BJP governments in the states ruled by it was not highlighted.
"After the coal scam came to light, we held protests outside residences of then PM Manmohan Singh, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhiji and had protested outside Nitin Gadkari's house also. Bedi, who was scheduled to join in protest outside Gadkari's residence, did not turn up," Biswas told reporters here.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said Bedi's past actions prove that she have always had a "soft corner" for BJP.
"It was one of the issues (leading to parting ways). It's an open fact that when we protested against Gadkari, Bedi didn't turn up. So somewhere she has always had a soft corner for BJP," Singh told PTI.
To lend credence to his claims, the senior AAP leader cited Bedi's "absence" from a number of India Against Corruption (IAC)-led agitations during the height of the anti-graft movement.
"The distance between the two was created after these incidents. If you remember Bedi also didn't turn up during IAC's movement against coal scam. AAP was not even formed then," he said.
On being asked the reason behind the party offering the CM candidature to Bedi before the 2013 Delhi Assembly polls after being aware of her supposed predisposition towards BJP, Singh said the party raised the issues with her after that.
"We offered but also raised the issues with her. An AAP party member will have to protest against coal scam, 2G scam, CWG. I think she didn't agree with the issues raised by our party. Clearly she liked BJP more," Singh said.
Congress leader Manish Tewari attacked both Kejriwal and Bedi and said both they were selectively targetting Congress during anti-graft movement.
"They were cherry picking and they were not prepared to talk about the alleged mining scam in Karnataka during BJP's rule. How can even AAP claim to be an anti-BJP force when there were rumours that India Against Corruption was a B-team of BJP," he said.
