After Cong loyalty pledge, AAP candidates sign legal affidavits promising not to ‘betray’ party and Goan electorate

Arvind Kejriwal says voters can drag AAP candidates to court for breach of faith

@the_news_21

Mumbai: After the Goa Congress loyalty pledge to its candidates, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has come up with its own test of loyalty. It comes against the backdrop of the now infamous penchant of some legislators in Goa to hop parties at the drop of a hat. The moves are aimed at regaining voter confidence.

In a counter to the Congress move, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidates on Wednesday signed a legal affidavit ahead of the February 14, Goa Assembly election, while taking a ‘pledge’ to remain loyal to the voters of Goa and their party after the election results. 

The AAP candidates took the oath in the presence of AAP National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. It may be recalled that the Congress party too had made its candidates undertake a loyalty pledge vowing not to switch parties after the polls. 

However, well before the Congress’ move, Kejriwal had made it clear in December last year in Panaji that all AAP candidates would be signing an affidavit so that the Goan people could take them to court if they switched parties or indulged in corrupt practices after elections. 

Kejriwal while talking to newspersons in Panaji on Wednesday, “Goa’s politics are mired in corruption today. It is seen that many candidates immediately change their party after the elections regardless of the ticket on which he or she contests. In the last few years, candidates have defected en masse from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)…This is tantamount to cheating voters and selling their votes. Hence, all AAP candidates have signed an affidavit swearing that they will stay away from all forms of corruption, taking bribes and to stay within the AAP only.”

The AAP National Convenor further informed that all AAP candidates would make available photocopies of their respective affidavits so that people could later take the candidate to task by filing breach of trust motions or holding them for taking false oaths if they acted contrary to what they pledged in the affidavit. 

The New Delhi Chief Minister remarked, “We have chosen our candidates very carefully. People may question the need for an affidavit if we are so confident about the character of our candidates as we claim…however, given the volatility of Goa’s politics, it is not enough for one merely to be honest, but he or she must be seen to be honest as well. The trouble is, going by the rampant political defections of the past years and months, the people of Goa no longer believe that a government can be run honestly. The AAP is here to prove everyone wrong.” 

Commenting upon the development, AAP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Amit Palekar, remarked that the signing of legal affidavits was a confidence building measure, and said that anti-defection laws were very weak in India, particularly in Goa. 

In a thinly veiled jibe at the Congress, Palekar said that the AAP’s candidates were giving the electorate in writing that they would not indulge in corrupt practices or shift allegiances after the polls instead of merely going to a temple or mosque to take loyalty pledges. 

Commenting upon the two pledges of AAP and Congress, Kejriwal remarked, “While it is good that a party (Congress) has taken its candidates to a temple and a church to swear loyalty to the party, they should take their pledge in front of people. How will the public have confidence in what you (Congress’ candidates) have said in the temple? But in the case of our affidavit, if a candidate tries to change political parties after this public oath, then he or she will instantly lose public credibility.” 

Further commenting upon the defection of 10 Congress MLAs to the BJP in July 2019, Kejriwal sarcastically remarked that it was worthy of a “Guinness Book Record”. He claimed that the contest in the upcoming polls will clearly be between the AAP and the BJP.  “The AAP is the only alternative to the BJP today because the politics in Goa are such that winning candidates from other parties sooner or later defect to the BJP,” Kejriwal added further. 

The Delhi Chief Minister hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s recent remarks at the BJP’s campaign rally that the AAP was merely making hollow promises about giving Goans free electricity and other freebies. 

“I want to ask Amit Shah how many units he gets free from Delhi government (AAP Govt)? When he gets free electricity from the Delhi government, he never complains, but he has a problem when the AAP promises this to the public. …so, if he can get free electricity from the taxpayers’ money, then why not the taxpayers’ themselves?” asked Kejriwal.  

The Goa Assembly election is to be held in a single-phase on February 14 with the counting of votes to take place on March 10. Among the players in Goa poll fray, both the AAP and the BJP are contesting all 40 seats independently while the Congress has forged an alliance with the Vijai Sardesai-led Goa Forward Party (GFP) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has joined hands with the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).