New Delhi [India], January 14 : Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday lashed out at Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, labelling her as a "temporary CM", questioning the crowdfunding campaign while alleging that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was spending at least four crore rupees on volunteers in each assembly constituency. He cited Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit while alleging the same.
He questioned the need for crowdfunding Rs 40 lakh, pointing towards the alleged money being spent on volunteers. Taking a dig at AAP, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader asked, "The money they earned in the liquor scam, have you spent it all in the Goa elections?"
"Atishi, the temporary CM says she wants crowdfunding of Rs 40 lakh to contest the elections. How many volunteers do they have in each constituency and how much is each volunteer being paid every day? According to Sandeep Dikshit (Congress leader), they are spending four to five crore rupees on volunteers in each constituency. If they have that much money, why do they need crowdfunding?" Puri remarked.
He further accused the Delhi government of spending nearly Rs 1.5 crore on the cars of Arvind Kejriwal and nearly Rs 45 lakh on the cars of Manish Sisodia.
"The Delhi government spends nearly Rs 1.5 crore on the cars of Arvind Kejriwal and nearly Rs 45 lakhs on the cars of Manish Sisodia. What kind of Aam Aadmi are these people?" Puri said.
Meanwhile, Congress candidate from the New Delhi assembly constituency, Sandeep Dikshit, on Monday took a dig at Atishi for her 'crowdfunding campaign' to contest the election, saying that the ruling AAP is spending much more than the expenditure limit.
He alleged that AAP is spending Rs 500 to 700 on each volunteer. He stated that the party had appointed around 11 to 12 volunteers in each booth.
Earlier, Dikshit levelled serious allegations, saying that as per his calculations, AAP is likely to spend nearly five crores in cash in the New Delhi assembly constituency alone on paid employees while the expenditure will reach Rs 300 crore for the entire Delhi.
Notably, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi raised more than Rs 15 lakh through her online portal on Sunday. Atishi has set a goal of garnering Rs 40 lakh as her election campaign fund, contesting from the Kalkaji Assembly constituency. As of January 10, 5:30 PM, the party's donation page shows 278 people have donated a total of Rs 15,15,930 to her.
The Election Commission of India has restricted a candidate to spend Rs 40 lakh for one assembly seat in the election polls.
The Delhi assembly polls will be held in a single phase on February 5 and the counting of votes will take place on February 8.
The last date for filing nominations is January 17. The date for scrutiny of nominations is January 18. The last date for withdrawal of candidature is January 20.