Real scam is ‘Operation Lotus’, says Arvind Kejriwal

After this, all MLAs led by Kejriwal headed to Rajghat in another show of numbers to “pray to Gandhi ji to save the country from BJP’s Operation Lotus”.

“They sent a message to Sisodia, offering him the CM post and closure of all cases against him if he causes a split in the AAP and joins them. It is my fortune and luck that I’ve been blessed with a confidant and companion like Manish ji; they gave him an open offer of the CM post, but he kicked it away. Now they’re trying to lure our MLAs, offering them Rs 20 crore in cash to side with them and topple the AAP government. They have no clarity or logic behind their allegations; some of them are claiming a Rs 1.5 lakh crore scam, some Rs 1,100 crore, some Rs 800 crore, some Rs 144 crore and some Rs 1 crore… the real scam is ‘Operation Lotus’. At Rajghat, we prayed for the prevailing situation to get better and sought blessings for the country’s peace and progress,” he said.

According to AAP, 12 MLAs stated in the meeting that they have been contacted by someone from the BJP to break away from the party. Asked if the party would be providing proof of such contact, Greater Kailash MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said, “The testimony of an MLA is considered to be proof in the court of law; when the right time comes, we’ll present such proof before the nation that will shake up the foundation of the BJP.” The party has not named these 12 MLAs.

On Thursday evening, Kejriwal tweeted: “There is a serial killer, who has killed six people in the same pattern. The killer tried to kill another person using the same pattern. This time the killer failed. The victim is saying it is the same killer, I have seen him. But the whole media is asking for proof. The eyewitness is here, the pattern is the same. The police will gather evidence but the killer must be arrested first.”

Some tension

Around 45 minutes before the meeting, AAP sources said a few MLAs could not be reached. “We are making calls to all our MLAs but a few of them are not reachable. Efforts will be made to contact all 62 MLAs before 11 am,” a source had told The Indian Express.

By 11 am, 36 MLAs, including the CM, were present at his residence. AAP has 62 out of 70 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly. Of these, 54 were expected to report to the meeting since cabinet minister Satyendar Jain is in judicial custody in an alleged money laundering case and seven MLAs — Manish Sisodia, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel, Gulab Singh, Dinesh Mohaniya, Mukesh Ahlawat, Shiv Charan Goel and Vinay Mishra — were out of Delhi on different assignments.

Bharadwaj stood outside Kejriwal’s residence doing a headcount of MLAs as they arrived one by one. At 11.30 am, Rajinder Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak arrived and was the 53rd MLA to join the meeting. Bharadwaj stated that Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan could not make it to the meeting due to traffic congestion but joined on a video call. Khan later joined the MLAs at Rajghat.