'Anarchist' AAP out to destroy the system: Khurshid

In a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid on Wednesday accused it of being an "anarchist out to destroy the system" and has got some of the "worst, stinking, third grade people" across the country.

Khurshid, the Union external affairs minister, also claimed AAP is "not in the race" in the Lok Sabha polls and "mistaken" if they think so.

"The are jurassic. They smell of anarchy. They just demean everything that has been time-tested. They ridicule anything. They question and demean anything...AAP is a real threat to our system. They are anarchist. They want to destroy the system. They are anarchist either by choice or by ignorance," Khurshid told NDTV.       

His remarks came a day after Arvind Kejriwal-led party claimed over 10 lakh people joined it in the last five days of its on-going nation-wide membership drive.

"AAP has some of the worst, third grade people across the country. I have been to districts where I have found that the worst stinking persons are the first to join AAP...they are lucky today because every stink is described as a fragrance for good for them," Khurshid said.

The Union minister also claimed that in the very short time of 15 days since AAP formed government in Delhi, it has done enough "damage" to a sensible person's perception about them.

Replying to questions, Khurshid said "AAP is not in the race. Forget about what we are. They are not in the race. They are mistaken. They are running a government in Delhi because of us."

Eight MLAs of Congress are providing crucial outside support to the AAP government in Delhi.

Attacking the AAP chief over his style of functioning, he said, "Kejriwal redefines rules,...moves the goalpost everytime he likes. This is not going to work in a nation like ours. The sooner he gets to discover what he is is what his limits are, the better it will be."

Khurshid criticised AAP leader Prashant Bhushan's 'plebiscite' pitch in Jammu and Kashmir alleging he was "questioning the integrity of India as a country" through such remarks.

"What does plebiscite mean? Army is there because there is a problem, because there is a history. Army is there because Kashmir is the part of the idea of India...(He is) questioning the integrity of India as a country, suggesting that Kashmir should be given away," he said.

Bhushan had said deployment of military in Jammu and Kashmir should be undertaken with the consent of people of the state, remarks which led to controvers forcing AAP to distance from it.

The Union minister also took a jibe at Kejriwal over the recent incident in which Kejriwal had to leave the venue of the public hearing midway as hundreds of people jostled with each other to register their grievances during a Janta Durbar.

"...And in the end, they run away from the crowds when they find that they cannot handle the crowd. They go to rooftop and then start screaming from there," he said.

Khurshid also downplayed his cabinet colleague Jairam Ramesh's remarks praising AAP and saying that those who do not learn lessons from it will be finished.

"Jairam says such things to me also. He calls me all kinds of names and then tells me that I do not understand. He tells me that if I do not listen, I am finished

"Jairam is a person who has an extremely active mind. He has a very forceful turn of phrases. He is always looking at a different angle from all of us. He never takes the beaten path. But everything that he says is not something to which I will agree with," Khurshid said. PTI AMR

Image: Union minister Salman Khurshid