Kirti Azad: BJP backstabbed me, PM Modi is running a govt of Julmebazi and corruption

Cricketer turned politician and a bete noire of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi politics, Kirti Azad, after meeting Congress president Rahul Gandhi, joined Congress on Monday.

Talking to the National Herald, an aggressive right-hand batsman and a moderately quick off spinner, Azad termed his joining Congress as a Ghar wapsi. But in the the same breath he said, "BJP has backstabbed him for raising issues related to corruption."

Son of former Bihar Chief Minister and famous Congressman Bhagwat Jha Azad, Kirti won Bhagalpur Lok Sabha seat on BJP’s symbol however he was suspended from the party in 2015 for anti-party activities.

Azad attributed his suspension to the "moral corruption that has engulfed" the BJP under the patronage of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who according to Azad knows “more about PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah” than any of the media.

“He (Arun Jaitley) may have some information about Modi and Shah. That is why they obliged him by suspending me. Despite the fact that I tried my best, they (Modi and Shah) were very reluctant to give me a hearing,” said Azad.

“Instead, they branded me a rebel. Agar sach bolna bagawat hai to mai baghi hu,” he added.

When asked why he took so much time to leave the BJP, Azad who was part of 1983 world cup winning squad, said I did not utter a single word against the BJP but a person called Arun Jaitley.

However, the party backstabbed me, said three time parliamentarian.

“Following Modi’s learning who vowed Na Khaunga, Na Khane Dunga, I had simply raised the issue of corruption in Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) but the BJP backstabbed me.”

Azad claimed he raised the issue of corruption in DDCA, which is a private institution that has nothing to do with the BJP but at the behest of Arun Jaitley, BJP got involved against me.

“Following my allegations which were supported by the evidence, The Ministry of Corporate Affairs and DDCA conducted the injury wherein my allegation was found to be true but nobody in the BJP paid any heed to it,” he asserted.

Regarding the question, whether he tried to meet PM Modi in person, Azad exclaimed, BJP has changed a lot.

“This is not the same BJP which Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani ji led. Seeking an appointment, I tried to meet Modi many times but he did not have even a couple of minutes for me. I was denied an appointment by Amit Shah also,” said Azad.

On the performance of his erstwhile party BJP and five years of the Modi government, Azad said as a common man of this country he too wants to ask PM Modi many questions.

“I want to know what happened to the Black money. Where are the 15 lakhs that was supposed to be deposit in our accounts? Where are the 100 smart cities and what is happening to the Namami Gange?”

His wife Poonam Azad who had briefly joined the APP in 2016, left within a year and joined the Congress in 2017.

As per sources, Kirti Azad is believed to be keen on contesting again from his Darbhanga constituency, but the Congress may field him in Delhi.