NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashish Khaitan on Monday said the Delhi government would not penalise the dispossessed who engages in "corruption out of compulsion".
"The Delhi government will not punish those poor who indulge in corruption because of compulsion," Khaitan said at the release function of "Capital Conquest", a book by journalist Saba Naqvi on the AAP's stunning election victory in Delhi.
"Poor people have to make some compromises. And we are not here to punish them. We want to set up humane modal of governance," he added.
Khaitan remarked that there was no merit to punish the act of paying off for securing a space in a slum dwelling.
"The poor person who pays bribe to get a small place in jhuggi-jhopadi cluster should not be punished. It is the person who is taking the bribe, should be punished. We will not go after poor," he said.