Gadkari terms AAP's activities 'right-wing Maoism'

In a scathing attack on Aam Aadmi Party, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday dubbed the Arvind Kejriwal-led outfit's activities as "right-wing Maoism" and said its move to elicit views of people to form government in Delhi was a "mockery" of democracy.

"AAP is doing a tamasha (drama) over the popular mandate and asking people to tell them the future course of action. Why AAP is not forming government in Delhi when Congress has offered it unconditional support? AAP's activities are right-wing Maoism," Gadkari, also BJP Delhi in-charge, told reporters on the sidelines of ongoing winter session of state legislature in Nagpur.

He alleged that people will soon get disillusioned with Aam Aadmi Party. "It seems the main job of the party and its leaders (is) only to attack others and make wild allegations," Gadkari alleged.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party with 32 seats in the 70-member assembly in Delhi but is unable to form government in the wake of fractured mandate.

AAP, which emerged as the second largest party with 28 seats, has sought people's views on whether to form a minority government with outside support of Congress' eight MLAs.

Gadkari alleged that AAP is a "confused party of confused leaders".

"AAP is totally confused given the fact that when Congress extended its unconditional support to form government, the party sent a list of 18 conditions to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi," Gadkari said.

He was referring to a charter of 18 demands the party had sent to both Congress and BJP seeking their views on points that are presumed to be against the interest of both the national parties.

While Congress in its reply had made it clear that most of the issues mentioned by AAP can be addressed by government and do not need the House, BJP has not responded.

Gadkari said AAP and its leadership are "highly immature and irresponsible".

"They feel they are the only honest people and others are corrupt, while the fact is that AAP gave tickets to those who were denied nomination by BJP," he said.

Image: Senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari