New Delhi, Aug 30 (IANS): AAP leader Sanjay Singh Saturday alleged it was BJP MP Manoj Tiwari who offered Kumar Vishwas the Delhi chief minister's post after the April-May general election this year.

Tiwari who is an MP from northeast Delhi refuted the charges and said if needed, he will file a defamation case but only after talking to his seniors.

"BJP MP Manoj Tiwari met Kumar Vishwas May 19 and asked him to bring along 18 AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) MLAs and become the chief minister," Sanjay said.

"I have become the centre of AAP leaders' accusations since I won election from Delhi. Earlier, they used to tell people I am a celebrity and won't work for them and now this. If Sanjay Singh is taking my name, then it is a personal attack on me," Tiwari told a news channel.

The issue has blown up into a controversy after AAP leader Vishwas said a BJP legislator had come to meet him after the general election.

Vishwas told a news channel: "He is an old friend...so I thought he had come to either congratulate or sympathise as I had lost the election. But he told me his party wanted me to accept the post of chief minister. He also told me he was meeting me at the behest of the BJP leadership."

AAP leader Vishwas is not a Delhi MLA but fought the Lok Sabha election from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh and lost.

Vishwas said he refused to accept the offer and immediately informed his party colleagues. However, he said he will not divulge the BJP legislator's name.

Delhi has been under president's rule since AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal resigned as chief minister in February after spending just 49 days in office.

BJP threatens legal action against Vishwas

A livid BJP today threatened to take legal action against Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas for his allegation that a BJP MP had approched him to defect to the saffron party and help in government formation.

"Party strongly refutes such baseless allegations of Kumar Vishwas. BJP is exploring the option of legal action against him," Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay told reporters here.

Upadhyay said that it was nothing new for AAP to make just allegations, adding that Vishwas should immediately disclose the name of the BJP MP who met him and what was discussed between them.

"Such frequent confusions and deliberate misleading by AAP are not right. If Vishwas has any proof to substantiate his claim, he should present it before the people of Delhi," Upadhyay said.

Vishwas, who had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha polls in Amethi against Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi, claimed that a BJP MP had offered that he would be made Delhi chief minister if he joins BJP along with some AAP legislators to help form government.

Though Vishwas refused to identity the BJP MP, AAP's key leader Sanjay Singh said that it was Manoj Tiwari who had made the offer.

Scotching reports about his alleged involvement, Tiwari said it was a "conspiracy" to tarnish his image by some AAP leaders.

Earlier News

BJP offered me CM post, asked for help in govt formation in Delhi: Kumar Vishwas

New Delhi, Aug 30 (Bhaskar News) : The ongoing political drama over formation of government in Delhi has hiked up after a statement given by Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas.

In an interview to The Economic Times, Kumar Vishwas said Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) offered him the post of Chief Minister and asked to help him in forming the government in Delhi.

Vishwas told ET that "On May 19, around 10.30 pm, a BJP MP had come over to my house. I met the person because he is a friend. The gentleman stayed on till 3.30 am trying to convince me that I should help BJP form the government in Delhi and that they were willing to offer me the CM's post."

As per the report published in ET, he futher added "He claimed that he was meeting me at the behest of top BJP functionaries. He also claimed that 12 AAP MLAs, who did not want reelection, were willing to support the proposal."

However, BJP MLA from Delhi RP Singh has rubbished all the claims by Vishwas. Singh said that even he can claim that AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal had come to his house and offered him the CM's position.

He alleged Vishwas of making such sensations to stay in news. "This is just a way of staying in the news. Vishwas should name the MP," he added.

Since, AAP chief Kejriwal resigned as Chief Minister of Delhi, the capital has been under president's rule. AAP leader Kumar Vishwas was fielded from Amethi in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha Elections. He lost to Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi.