Kejriwal's letter to PM insult to his office: Congress

New Delhi, Nov 3: Reacting sharply to Arvind Kejriwal's letter along with a cheque to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress on Thursday described it as ''insulting'' to the top office and said the former revenue officer should have written to his immediate senior officer on this issue.

"Kejriwal writting his letter to Prime Minister is insulting the office of the Prime Minister. I don't know what designation Kejriwal held when he was in service. He should have written to his immediate superior officer in government who would have been the competent authority to take note of it," party spokesperson Rashid Alvi told reporters here.

Returning over Rs nine lakh in dues to settle the issue of his resignation from the IRS, Kejriwal had sent a cheque of Rs 9,27,787 along with a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him not to trouble his friends who had given him an interest-free loan to settle the dues.

Alvi also took a jibe at former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, another Team Anna member, saying that tomorrow she may also write to the Prime Minister after returning the excess amount she has taken from the NGOs. Asked about Anna Hazare's 'maun vrat', the Congress spokesperson said Hazare must have taken his vow of silence to avoid uncomfortable questions surrounding the recent conduct of some of his team members.

"He possibly kept the vow of silence because he was upset over his own colleagues' actions. I am sure he went on the maun brat because it was difficult to answer questions on the recent actions by his team members."

"One of the team members says there should be a plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, the other travels in economy class but charges additional amount from NGOs, and the third declares an individual is above Constitution. It is indeed difficult to answer questions on these issues," Alvi said.

Raising questions over the scheduled appearance of Prashant Bhushan before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lokpal tomorrow, Alvi said, "Team Anna should clarify their stand on the issue because Bhushan is appearing before the Standing Committee on their behalf."

Alvi said Bhusan's statement that there should be a plebiscite in Kashmir not only goes against India's stand but also supports that of Pakistan on J&K, which no countryman will tolerate as all Indians are against such an exercise.

the Congress spokesperson at the same time said Anna Hazare, as a citizen of the country, is very much entitled to come here and appear before any committee.

In his letter to the PM, Kejriwal insisted that he was doing so in protest and it did not mean he had accepted any mistake.

Returning the dues "does not mean that I have accepted the mistake. When I don't know what was the mistake I committed, then there is no question of accepting it," said the 43-year-old activist in the letter.

Government has claimed that he had violated bond rules by quitting the service before completing three years of service after going on a study leave on full pay. However, Kejriwal said he took non-paid leave and quit the service after serving bond conditions.

PTI