Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met party convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail today. Mann said he met Kejriwal through a glass separation, and they had a half-hour-long meeting where they discussed significant issues.
Starting with, the Punjab CM alleged that his Delhi counterpart is subject to deplorable treatment in jail. He said, "It was very painful to see that he (Arvind Kejriwal) is not even getting the amenities that a hardcore criminal gets. What is his crime? That he constructed hospitals and schools and provided free electricity to the public? They are treating him as if he is a very big criminal."
Speaking to reporters, the Punjab Chief Minister further affirms that AAP stands with Kejriwal and that the party will rise as a big political force in the upcoming elections. He added that the AAP convener, during their meeting, also asked him to visit different places to campaign for INDIA bloc candidates ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
It is pertinent to note that the CMs meeting comes after the intense political drama wherein AAP alleged that the party convener was being stripped of his fundamental rights behind bars and was being subjected to harsh treatment inside the jail.
Earlier, addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh alleged that CM Kejriwal is being stripped of his fundamental rights inside the jail. While highlighting “blatant discrimination," Singh said, the administration allowed Kejriwal “only a glass wall meeting” with his wife Sunita and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, while notorious criminals “enjoy face-to-face encounters.”
"When the wife of Arvind Kejriwal applied to meet him, she was told that you cannot meet him face-to-face but through a window. They are only allowed to meet him through the jangla (an iron mesh that separates the inmate from the visitor in a room inside the jail). Why such inhuman behavior? This inhuman act has been done just to humiliate and discourage the CM. I am saying with full responsibility that even the dreaded criminals are allowed to meet in the barrack, but a three-time CM of Delhi is allowed to meet his wife through a window with a glass in between." AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.
"Today, the fight is to save democracy and the Constitution. I would request PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah not to take away the rights of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, which are guaranteed constitutionally, democratically, legally, and under the prison rules. Don't try to be a dictator," the AAP leader added.
