New Delhi: The Congress on Friday attacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over its two non-party Rajya Sabha nominees — N.D. Gupta and Sushil Gupta, saying that it is the “team B” of the BJP working indirectly for them.
The Congress also said that the businessman Sushil Gupta is not a “mass-based leader but a maal-based (money based) leader”.
“N.D. Gupta is indirectly being sent to the Rajya Sabha by BJP, as he has been close to Finance Minister and BJP leader Arun Jaitley,” Delhi Congress President Ajay Maken at a press conference here.
The AAP had named businessman Sushil Gupta, chartered accountant N.D. Gupta and party leader Sanjay Singh for the Rajya Sabha.
Maken also said that Jaitley had even appreciated N.D. Gupta for his social work and other things and this was “quoted by none other than N.D. Gupta in his bio data available on the internet”.
“There has been a deal between the two parties as chartered accountant Naveen Gupta, son of N.D. Gupta, had got in touch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the GST event by ICAI on July 1, 2017.”
He also alleged that N.D. Gupta’s son was close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“He is the same N.D. Gupta who was president of ICAI on February 2, 2002, when their building was inaugurated in Delhi by Jaitley, who was then Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs,” Maken said sharing the photographs of the plaque installed outside the ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) building.
Referring to naming ex-Congress leader Sushil Gupta, Maken said: “On November 28, Sushil approached me with his resignation stating that he was offered a Rajya Sabha seat and was sure of it.”
“Initially, when he had come to me saying this, I could not believe it,” he said adding that this whole episode questions the core principles on which the AAP was formed five years ago.
“He is not a mass-based leader but a maal-based leader,” Maken said.
The Congress leader also questioned why the AAP which fought for the Lokpal Bill has not been passed in the Delhi Assembly as it was passed by the UPA government on January 5, 2014.
IANS