Kejriwal claims BJP plotting Delhi coup, calls for special Assembly session on Friday; summons party MLAs tomorrow

The Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi has called for a special session of the Assembly on Friday amid the political slugfest over charges that BJP is trying to lure AAP MLAs to bring down the elected government.

AAP national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said Chief Minister and AAP convenor Kejriwal has summoned all the MLAs of the party on Thursday. The summons came after a meeting of the party's political affairs committee this evening. Kejriwal has also called a meeting of the Political Affairs Committee of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to discuss the "serious issue" at his residence later in the day.

Earlier today, the BJP accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making efforts to topple the Delhi government "by hook or by crook", claiming that the BJP approached its four MLAs with an offer of Rs 20 crore to join the saffron party.

Addressing the media, Singh said the legislators -- Ajay Dutt, Sanjeev Jha, Somnath Bharati and Kuldeep -- have been approached by leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with whom they have "friendly relations". "They have been offered Rs 20 crore each if they join the party and Rs 25 crore if they bring other MLAs along with them," Singh said.

Singh accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of making efforts to bring AAP legislators into the BJP-fold "by hook or by crook" and topple the Kejriwal government.

"Modiji is trying to make AAP MLAs break away from the party and topple the Delhi government by misusing probe agencies, sending his people to offer money to them and threaten them of consequences if they do not switch sides," he said.

Following CBI raids on Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia over the alleged corruption in Delhi excise policy, AAP has claimed that the BJP is attempting to overthrow the Delhi government the way they toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra.

"BJP offered to bring down Kejriwal's government by luring AAP MLAs with Rs 20-20 crores... slogans of `50 Khokha-50 Khokha` were raised in Maharashtra Assembly, hence I would say to the BJP Band karo desh se dhokha, nahi chalega 50 khoka," Bharadwaj said addressing a press conference in Delhi," AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a press conference. 

Taking to Twitter, Sisodia warned the BJP-led Centre against making efforts to "poach" AAP MLAs by misusing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and offering money, and said they will "give up" their lives but will not betray their party as they are the "soldiers" of Kejriwal and followers of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

"After they failed to break me, they have started conspiring to make other AAP MLAs break away (from the party) by offering Rs 20 crore to each of them, threatening them of raids," the deputy chief minister said in a tweet in Hindi.

"...They (AAP MLAs) are the soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal and followers of Bhagat Singh," he said, adding, "They will sacrifice their lives but will not betray (the party). Your ED-CBI is of no use in front of them."

The BJP, while rubbishing the allegations, alleged that the Delhi government ignored recommendations of an expert panel set up to reform liquor trade in the national capital and gave licences to companies that paid "hefty commissions" to the AAP.

The saffron party also alleged that the AAP government did not follow the suggestions of its own panel to "gain unfair advantage" in the Punjab polls.

Addressing a press conference here, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the "kingpin" of the liquor policy "scam" but he did not sign a single file in an attempt to avoid investigation.