Loksatta Party national President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today said that his party is prepared to face any inquiry either by the Election Commission of India or the CBI or Delhi police into allegations being hurled against it in the wake of a sting operation against Mr. Anurag Kejriwal.
In a media statement, Dr. JP pointed out that the party had expelled its Delhi unit President Anurag Kejriwal the moment his inexcusable conduct came to light without going through the motions of an inquiry.
Expressing distress over the concerted moves by certain media sections to besmirch the unsullied image of the Loksatta, Dr. JP said there seemed to be a conspiracy to undermine the credibility of the party on the eve of the general elections.
Dr. JP said the Loksatta, which does not have a single member in Parliament, has had the distinction of ushering in epoch-making reforms in several areas. It will continue its mission to usher in new politics and transform the country undaunted by vested interests’ bid to undercut it.
Dr. JP recalled that in his 34 years of public life, none dared to level any allegation against him even remotely because he is unblemished.
In a statement issued in New Delhi on Saturday, Loksatta Party national General Secretary Surendra Srivastava announced the expulsion of Mr. Anurag Kejriwal from its membership with immediate effect for gross violation of the code of ethics and principles that the party advocates and has scrupulously followed for the past 18 years.
He also announced that the Working Committee and Executive Committee of the Delhi State unit had been suspended and a five-member interim panel of Loksatta's youth leaders has been set up to run the party's affairs until further notice.
Mr. Achyutam Kallani, 29, a banker by profession, will be the convener of the panel. The other members are Mr. Siddharth Panwar, 30, a researcher; Mr. Hemant Chandak, 33, corporate professional, Mr. Dushyant Arora, 26, a lawyer and Mr. Anuj Middha, 26, an entrepreneur.
Mr. Kejriwal was expelled after a sting operation by a news channel in which he was seen bragging about his ability to influence the party leadership to work for certain vested interests. He also expressed willingness to field dummy candidates in the Delhi Assembly election to undercut other parties and was seen discussing the quantum of funding required for the party's campaign currently under way in Andhra Pradesh. Loksatta Party national President Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan is the frontrunner for the Malkajigiri Lok Sabha seat in Hyderabad.
Mr. Surendra Srivastava said that the party decided to expel Mr. Kejriwal for making false claims and trying to bring the party's name into disrepute. The party is also exploring the possibility of other action against him.
Mr. Kejriwal was earlier asked to resign as the Delhi State President and from the National Steering Committee of the party. The expulsion is in line with the exemplary standards of conduct set by the Loksatta Party in public life. This should send an unambiguous message that the party has absolutely zero tolerance for such acts of indiscretions which seek to strike at the very edifice of high moral standards and basic ideals of the party.
Mr. Surendra Srivastava described as poppycock Mr. Kejriwal's claims of putting up dummy candidates and disrupting parliamentary sessions at the behest of vested interests. He said candidate selection in the Loksatta Party is not done by one individual while the track record of Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan as a legislator in the outgoing Andhra Pradesh Assembly speaks for itself.
“Such acts jeopardize the selfless contributions of Loksatta Party members and volunteers that have made it the pioneer of clean politic. Supporters of the party should rest assured that the party will always act decisively to preserve its character and reputation as the agent of positive change in Indian politics. The Loksatta Party firmly believes that personal integrity is a sine-quo-non for probity in public life.”
Mr. Srivastava further said the Loksatta Party has always supported policies that are in national interest whoever proposed them and would continue to do so. He said that the Loksatta Party has worked with parties across the spectrum to champion laws that will help clean up the country's polity like those dealing with right to information,, election funding law, candidates’ disclosures, the Lokpal, right to services and the National Judicial Commission.
Mr. Srivastava also said Loksatta Party accepts donations only by cheque and never in cash.
