Arvind Kejriwal turns guns on Salman Khurshid for trust forgery, asks resignation

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal turned his anti-corruption gun at Union law minister Salman Khurshid today, demanding his resignation and the arrest of his wife.

A television channel "sting" last night claimed that a trust which Mr Khurshid is chairman of, forged signatures of Uttar Pradesh government officials and siphoned off several lakhs of rupees.

The Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust is registered as an NGO at Mr Khushid's government residence in New Delhi and his wife and former UP MLA Louise Khurshid is its chief functionary. It receives money from several ministries and is involved in assisting the physically challenged in UP, including Mrs Khurshid's former constituency and hometown Farrukhabad.

An inquiry was recently ordered by the UP government against the NGO after questions were raised by the union ministry of Justice and Empowerment.

Reacting to the sting, Mr Kejriwal said, "We demand an urgent FIR. His wife who is the project director should be arrested. Because they are a powerful family, they will destroy evidence and put pressure on witnesses." He added that it was "sad that the country's law minister heading an NGO that is involved in corruption" and that he should resign immediately.

He also took a swipe at Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he should register an FIR and follow up on the inquiry the state government has ordered. "If this doesn't happen, does it mean the Centre is helping Mulayam and vice-versa?" There are corruption cases against Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav that are currently being investigated by the CBI.

Mr Kejriwal has already rattled the government and the Congress party by targetting Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra with a series of corruption allegations. He launched his political party last month and is targetting the Delhi elections next year as his first test. The party has not yet been named.