Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday (May 21) came out all guns blazing at the BJP-led and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrests of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in different cases asking if the people of the country have elected a “PM or a thanedar (policeman). His remarks came after his aide Bibhav Kumar was arrested by the Delhi Police in the Swati Maliwal assault case. Invoking the arrest of other party leaders, Kejriwal, who himself is out on an interim bail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha Elections, said that if the people of the North East Delhi constituency vote for the Congress (AAP’s ally in the I.N.D.I.A bloc), he would not have to go to jail.
Congress has fielded Kanhaiya Kumar, who was booked under the 2016 sedition case, from the constituency, and the Delhi CM was campaigning for him in the Bhajanpura area.
“It is up to you (people). If you vote for the 'Lotus' symbol (of the BJP), I will have to go back to jail. But if you push the 'Hand' symbol (of ally Congress), I may not have to go to jail. They (BJP) have unleashed 'gundagardi' (hooliganism) on the Opposition,” he said.
Did we elect a PM or thanedar: Kejriwal
Mentioning the arrests of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh (who is out on bail) in various cases, Kejriwal said, “They put Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh in jail. Now, they have also sent my (former) PA behind bars. They are also planning to send Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi to jail. Did we elect a prime minister or a thanedar?”
Kejriwal claimed that the BJP was attempting to implicate the AAP leaders in false cases and asked the Centre if a penny was recovered in various raids conducted earlier on the party leaders.
"They are trying to implicate us in a false and fictitious scam, which they claim to be worth Rs 100 crore. I want to ask them: you conducted over 500 raids. Did you even recover a penny? Where is the 100 crore? Did it vanish into thin air?" Kejriwal asked.
The AAP convenor held a roadshow in Bhajanpura, which is part of the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, on Tuesday evening. The seat is being contested by the Congress's Kanhaiya Kumar, who is pitted against BJP heavyweight and sitting MP Manoj Tiwari.
Kanhaiya also featured in the roadshow led by the AAP chief.
What did Kanhaiya Kumar say?
During the road show, Kanhaiya Kumar said, "The court has granted him bail so that he can protect democracy in the country and fight for your rights."
"Our biggest effort is to maintain peace in society, to maintain the prosperity of the society, and to maintain unity among all the people living in Northeast Delhi. We have to work together to get rid of our issues," he said, adding that this is the time for a change.
The AAP and the Congress, both members of the INDIA bloc, are in alliance in the national capital. The AAP is fighting on four Lok Sabha seats and the Congress on three.
Voting on all seven seats in Delhi will be held on May 25. The results of the elections will be announced on June 4.
(With inputs from agencies)
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