Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi, Nov. 19: The Congress today said Arvind Kejriwal had entered the public space with the sole intention of “destabilising India”, targeting the Aam Aadmi Party chief whose new outfit has been making inroads among the capital’s poor and migrants.

Shakeel Ahmed, Congress general secretary in charge of poll-bound Delhi, even questioned Kejriwal’s source of funds.

Asked if he was describing the AAP as anti-national, Ahmed said: “Not AAP but his initial agitation against the government was to destabilise India and was supported by anti-India forces.”

“He created distrust and hatred about the political class, democratic institutions and the Indian system. He abused everybody and tried to generate suspicion about each and every institution. He failed in his attempt and then decided to float a political party,” he added.

This is not the first time that the Congress has linked Kejriwal to an external conspiracy to create trouble in India. The party had taken a similar line at the peak of the Anna Hazare movement.

The general perception in Delhi is that the BJP would have swept the December 4 election but for the AAP, which has turned a direct contest into a three-way fight. Even now, in private, most Congress leaders concede that the AAP had generated a lifeline for the Sheila Dikshit government because of the likely division of anti-incumbency votes.

But what seems to have alarmed the Congress is the AAP’s inroads into its traditional constituency of the poor and migrants, contrary to the earlier perception that Kejriwal’s appeal was restricted to the educated and apolitical elite.

Some leaders suspect that the AAP has risen beyond expectations and fear the possibility of a hung Assembly. The abnormally high prices of vegetables — despite the onset of winter — has added to the Congress’s worries and the attack on Kejriwal may be a ploy to whittle down his popularity.

“It is true the AAP is cutting both ways but it has begun to lure away a substantial number of poor people which we have to check,” a party MLA admitted.

Asked about Kejriwal’s description of the AAP as the only honest party, Ahmed said: “This is the first party whose founder’s character came under the shadow of suspicion. He wanted to steal the government’s money. He was forced to deposit Rs 9.72 lakh, which he did under protest by sending a cheque to the Prime Minister. He is so honest. Now he is asking poor citizens not to pay electricity bills in protest. Why did he pay to the government if he was right? He tried to hoodwink people on this issue.”

The allusion was to the pending amount on the bond Kejriwal had to sign when he quit his government job.

The AAP has built its campaign on the plank of ridding Delhi of both the Congress and the BJP. Autos plying in the city prominently display posters that say: “Vote for honest party this time.”

Chief minister Dikshit has also questioned the source of the AAP’s funds.