Arvind Kejriwal a prominent team member of Anna Hazare returned Rs 9.2lakhs that were due on him to the government but at the same time telling the centre that they should not see this as an admission to the mistake that was hurled at him.
Kejriwal along with the amount wrote a letter to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh emphasising that he is paying the due by taking loans from his fellow friends and that for helping him pay his dues they should not be bothered by anyone.
The news of pending dues come to light when the Income Tax dept renewed notices showing that an amount of Rs 9.2 lakh is due on kejriwal and that he should return the amount as soon as possible. The I.T dept claimed that the due is valid because he violated rules of the government by quitting the service before completing 3yrs and also he went on study leave abroad on full pay.
Responding to the allegations Kejriwal said that he is being dragged into unnecessary controversy because he took no paid leave and that he resigned from his job after fulfilling all the conditions.
In his 4page letter to the P.M, Kejriwal said that he is enclosing a cheque of Rs 9,27,787 , the amount the I.T dept told was due on me, but this move should not be interpreted as my admission to the mistake which he hasn’t done. In his letter he further said that he won’t be accepting the mistake that he never did and that he has paid the complete amount as a token of protest. Thereby appealing the P.M to instruct the finance ministry to accept his due and his resignation as once his resignation is accepted he has the right to reclaim his due by approaching the judiciary of India.
At last he concluded the letter saying that such kind of attempts by the government will not tarnish the fight against corruption in fact this will strengthen the movement.