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Bedi to be a good chief minister: AAP patriarch Shanti Bhushan

by IBNS 22 Jan 2015, 11:19 am

New Delhi, Jan 22 (IBNS) After Sazia Ilmi made a bitter attack on him and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kezriwal suffered another embarrassment before Delhi Assemby elections when party patriarch Shanti Bhushan called for a 'change in leadership' and applauded BJP's Kiran Bedi as a good chief ministerial candidate.

Accusing Kerjiwal of being a 'failure' in handling party matters, the 89-year-old politician who has been a cornerstone of AAP from the beginning, told NDTV, "Arvind has failed the Aam Aadmi Party. He has moved away from the ideals of the party."

The former Union Minister criticised the selection of AAP candidates for the polls.

He also said he believed Kiran Bedi, who took a plunge in politics very recently by joining the BJP, would give good governance to Delhi.

"I have known Kiran intimately from the days of the movement and do expect that she will provide a very clean administration to Delhi...she is most likely to give us an honest and efficient government,"  Bhushan said.

His comments came barely two weeks before the Delhi polls, scheduled to be held onFebruary 7.

The election assumes greater significance with the AAP hoping to hold its forte with the help of Kerjiwal's public image  and the BJP, now in power at the Centre, going whole hog to recapture Delhi.

 Bhushan worked closely both  with  Bedi and  Kejriwal  during Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign in 2011. The group split in 2012, when Kejriwal formed a political part.

Shanti Bhushan said, "Anna should be proud that one of his disciples is becoming the chief minister of Delhi."

"Leader of AAP should be happy as that is what AAP wanted, its original struggle was against corruption," he added.