Seven months ago, Kumar Vishwas fought a pitched electoral battle against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Amethi in the Lok Sabha elections. The results, even he admits, did not flatter him. Between now and then, Vishwas was criticised by some in the AAP for “pro Modi” comments. But on Thursday, the day one of his former associates Kiran Bedi joined the BJP, Vishwas said even “right leaning people” should support the AAP, for Arvind Kejriwal was the only man who could provide a “check and balance” to the Modi-led BJP.
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| Kumar Vishwas at his Ghaziabad residence. |
There has to be a check and balance, and the only one which can do it is the Aam Aadmi Party,” he said.
Criticising Modi for his comments at Ramlila Maidan recently, Vishwas said, “In every democracy, there has to be room for dissent. You cannot tell those who oppose your ideas to go live in a forest and call him an anarchist. Modi should have given people an agenda for Delhi and told people to appoint a Lokpal instead of firing Rajyapals. He says nothing about Sakshi Maharaj who is a representative of India. The BJP is obsessed with one face. ”
On Bedi and former AAP leader joining the BJP, Vishwas said this was a sign of “BJP’s desperation ”.
“In a way, the BJP is admitting that there is nobody in Delhi that can challenge the clean and honest image of Kejriwal. They approached Bedi , Shazia and even me. It only shows their desperation.”
Vishwas said he would not “criticise everything about the government”. “Modi is the country’s PM. Opposition does not mean constant protests. There are some bad things about the government that I have spoken out against, but when I see something good about Modi — like his actions in Japan — I spoke about them. Some in the AAP asked me why I said them, but many others said I did the right thing. That is the beauty of AAP. There is Prashant Bhushan who is 180 degrees left, and I am 180 degrees right. But we respect each other and our work,” he said.
