Kejriwal can even join hands with Modi if it suits him: Prashant Bhushan

He used people like me and Yogendra to gain credibility, alleges Bhushan.

Washington

: Accusing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being -"totally unscrupulous-", friend- turned-foe Prashant Bhushan has claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party leader can even join hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for personal gains.

-"He (Kejriwal) is totally unscrupulous. The day it suits him, he will join hands with Modi. I have no doubt about it,-" Bhushan, who is currently on a private visit to the US, told a small group of Indian-Americans and Indians here last night.

Bhushan's remarks come even as Kejriwal-led Delhi government and the Modi-led Centre have been at loggerheads over a range of issues over the past one year.

Bhushan, an activist-lawyer who founded Swaraj Abhiyan along with Yogendra Yadav after leaving the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) last year, said he regrets having not -"recognised-" such traits of Kejriwal early on.

-"He used people like me and Yogendra to gain credibility, and at the same time ensured that he enjoys majority in decision-making bodies of AAP so that he can go ahead with his agenda,-" he said.

Responding to a question, Bhushan alleged that Kejriwal is not interested in fighting corruption.

-"He does not want accountability for himself,-" Bhushan said, alleging that he has been hearing a lot of corruption cases about AAP MLAs.

-"Arvind has Manmohan Singh syndrome, who never took money himself but allowed others around him to take money,-" the former AAP leader alleged.

Talking about assembly elections in Punjab, Bhushan said an Aam Admi Party government in the state will be much worse than that of the Congress.

-"It would be rudderless and chaotic,-" he said while asserting that AAP is not a credible alternative in Punjab.

-"Congress, in fact, is a much nicer choice in Punjab. In my view they would be better than AAP. They (Congress) have experience. There is no principal left in AAP,-" he said. Swaraj Abhiyan, he said, is not ready yet to jump into politics.

-"This will take about a year,-" he said in response to a question. Before joining electoral politics, he said, Swaraj Abhiyan wants to establish within itself the principles of transparency, accountability and democracy.

-"We do not want to repeat the mistakes we did in the case of AAP,-" he said, adding that people like him were taken for a ride by Kejriwal.