‘He betrayed us’, Arvind Kejriwal on sacked AAP leader

Lashing out at the BJP and Congress for “shielding” top leaders accused of corruption, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday sought to position the AAP as a party with a “difference” over the removal of Sandeep Kumar as minister for “betrayal” of core values.

A day after he sacked his minister, Mr Kejriwal, through a video message, asserted that he will prefer to die or dissolve the party rather than compromising with the AAP’s principles while adding the same rule will apply to himself and all other senior leaders.

Mr Kejriwal said although the turn of events and the fact that “such people” were in the party “saddened” him, he takes “pride” from the fact that the AAP did not attempt to “cover up” the transgressions. “Sandeep Kumar betrayed the party, he betrayed the AAP movement and the trust people across the country have reposed on AAP. We will never ever compromise on our core values. We will prefer to die, close the party or perish than tolerating wrongdoings,” he said.

Admitting that the case may sully the party’s image in people’s minds, Mr Kejriwal said what sets the AAP apart from other parties was that it does not dither to take prompt action, which comes out from the fact that as many as “four people” have been summarily suspended. “When we get proof of any wrongdoing we don’t spare anyone and take immediate action, which does not happen in other parties,” he said.

Mr Kumar was sacked by the CM in a hurried move after Mr Kejriwal received a nine-minute-long CD in which Mr Kumar was purportedly shown in a compromising position with a woman.