'Heavy BJP machinery' made MCD polls AAP's toughest election so far: Arvind Kejriwal
New Delhi, Dec 10: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said the "heavy BJP machinery" deployed during campaigning made the MCD polls the Aam Aadmi Party's toughest election so far and accused the saffron party of trying to "buy" its councillors.
The AAP national convener claimed that the BJP has started telephoning his party's councillors and offering them up to Rs 20 lakh each.
"This election was very, very tough. A few people say it was an easy election, but it was not. The way they conspired against us and the way they used state machinery against us, it was the toughest elections we ever contested," Kejriwal said in his address to the newly elected councillors.
"Heavy BJP machinery deployed during campaigning made the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls the toughest election for AAP so far," he added.
Referring to purported videos of jailed minister Satyender Jain getting special treatment, the chief minister said the BJP pressured the media to spread "propaganda against us".
"They (BJP) will try to buy you. They have started calling the councillors. Somebody is being offered Rs 10 lakh and some Rs 20 lakh," the AAP supremo said.
"I am completely sure no one from you will fall for their offer. However, we need to expose them. Put your phone on recording and whenever there is a call from them, record it," he added.
"Despite all the tricks", Kejriwal said the BJP "could not breach the AAP's reputation" which it has earned through its work and trust.
"Despite their propaganda, the people voted for us in the MCD. It means people trust what we did and earned in the last few years. The BJP thought people are gullible but they are not," he said, adding the saffron party's "propaganda" did not work.
The AAP does positive politics and talks about its work, unlike the BJP which "spreads fake videos and letters" of a jailed conman, he claimed without taking any name.
Several purported videos of Jain meeting visitors and the jail superintendent, eating fruits and vegetables and getting massages in his prison cell have gone viral, giving ammunition to the BJP to attack the AAP.
Earlier, jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar wrote to the Delhi Lieutenant Governor alleging that Jain "extorted" Rs 10 crore from him in 2019 to ensure his safety in prison.
"We do positive politics and talk about our work. The BJP through fake videos and letters of a jailed conman did not allow us to discuss our work narrative," Kejriwal said.
"Moreover, the way they pressured the media, they scolded the media and twisted its arm, they ran a misinformation campaign against us. There was a new fake video every morning at 9 o'clock," he alleged.
Speaking at the event, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said it is going to be a golden era for the MCD.
"...Now we have to clear the mountains of garbage, clean all streets, fix all roads and improve the primary health system," he said.
AAP's Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said, "The people have ousted the BJP's 15-year-long reign in the MCD with a hope of getting their city cleaned...we have to live up to the test."
On the occasion, the AAP announced the appointment of party leaders Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Adil Khan as coordinators and mentors for the councillors and assigned them the responsibility of looking after three districts each.
The AAP on Wednesday wrested power from the BJP in the high-stakes civic polls in the national capital. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party bagged 134 of the 250 wards while the BJP won 104.
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MP boat tragedy: Death toll rises to 10 with recovery of one more body; 3 tourists still missing
Jabalpur (PTI): The body of a child was retrieved on Saturday evening from Bargi Dam in Jabalpur district of Madhya Pradesh, raising the death toll in the cruise boat tragedy that took place two days ago to ten, while search continued for three missing tourists.
The boat, operated by the state tourism department, capsized during a storm on Thursday evening with some of the survivors alleging negligence and safety lapses such as life jackets not being distributed in time.
The body recovered on Saturday evening was possibly that of six-year-old Viraj Soni, said Sub-Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Anjul Ayank Mishra.
"The identity will be confirmed after family members identify the body," he told PTI.
Kamraj, an employee of the Ordnance Factory at Khamaria, his five-year-old son Tamil, and another child Mayuram (5) who had come from southern India were still missing.
Authorities have arranged equipment to search deep waters of the dam and are getting a generator to facilitate diving operations, Mishra added.
Divers and disaster response teams have expanded the search radius to five km, he said.
Of the 41 identified passengers on board the ill-fated vessel, 28 were rescued, police said.
More than 200 rescuers, including around 20 Army divers airlifted from Agra, joined the search operation that resumed at 5 on Saturday morning. The operation, involving the National Disaster Response Force, State Disaster Response Force and local divers, was briefly affected at around 9 am due to strong winds, officials said.
Post-mortem examinations of nine deceased persons have been completed, Mishra said.
"Our priority is to search for the missing persons. We will also register a First Information Report in the case soon," he said.
Police said CCTV footage near the boarding point showed 43 people heading towards the boat while the identities of 41 passengers have been confirmed so far.
The state government on Friday ordered a probe into the tragedy and dismissed three crew members. It also banned operation of similar vessels in the state.
