A year ago, 25-year-old Vibhor Anand had taken Arvind Kejriwal to court on sedition charges. A year later, he is a member of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Anand, a law student, now has a different opinion about the man who is now the Delhi chief minister.
?The times have changed. When I filed the case, I did not understand the man. Just days after he was appointed chief minister, one can see that he is working really hard. He has started the anti-corruption helpline and has created a fear in the minds of all those who are corrupt,? Anand said.
Anand had something different to say about Kejriwal in 2012. Then, he had filed a case of sedition against Kejriwal. He alleged that Kejriwal had made an objectionable speech at a rally in Ghaziabad on February 26, 2012, wherein he had said Parliament was filled with ?murderers, rapists and dacoits?.
On January 2, Anand withdrew his petition citing Kejriwal?s ?impressive performance as CM?. A few days later, he joined AAP.
Anand says there are numerous youth who, like him, look up to Kejriwal and believe that Kejriwal will rid the system of corruption.
Anand, is the son of advocate V K Anand, the counsel of December 16 gangrape accused Ram Singh, who was found dead in his cell last year, and his brother Mukesh, who was convicted of the gangrape and murder of the 23-year-old paramedic student. After Mukesh was convicted by the fast-track court in Saket, V K Anand had withdrawn as his counsel.
Anand claimed he quit IP University after raising questions about the alleged corruption in faculty appointment there. ?I had filed several complaints against the wrongdoings there. So far, I have done my bit as an aam aadmi and will continue to work to weed out corruption. Now, I have a platform in the form of Aam Aadmi Party to do this.? he said.
Anand, who also runs an NGO which offers free legal opinion to the poor, received his AAP membership confirmation last Friday.
He claimed that he would follow in the footsteps of Kejriwal. ?I will work in whatever capacity the party wants me to. My NGO offers free legal advice to those who need it. Maybe my legal background can be of some help to the party,? he said.
