'Did We Elect a Thanedar?': Kejriwal Swipe at PM Modi over Arrests of AAP Leaders

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who himself is out on interim bail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-junked Delhi excise policy, also claimed that the BJP was trying to implicate party leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain in false cases.

New Delhi:Under fire for the arrest of his former aide Bibhav Kumar in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha MLA Swati Maliwal, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling him a 'thanedar' or police officer out to put AAP leaders behind the bar.

The Delhi CM, who himself is out on interim bail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-junked Delhi excise policy, invoked the arrest of several of his party leaders and questioned if the people elected a Prime Minister or a 'thanedar' (police officer).

Addressing a public rally at Bhajanpura, ahead of polling for the Lok Sabha in the national capital on Tuesday he said, "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."

Bringing up the arrests of party heavyweights Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain in separate cases, the CM 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?"

The AAP supremo also claimed that the BJP was trying to implicate party leaders in false cases, as he asked the ruling party at the Centre to come clean on whether a penny was recovered in the numerous raids (on party leaders) conducted earlier. "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 also 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.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the AAP claimed that the BJP-NDA at the Centre was characterised by 'incompetence and misgovernance', adding that the people of Delhi will teach the ruling party a 'hard lesson' in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls. The ruling party in the national capital also hit back at Union Minister Amit Shah for labelling the AAP as a party mired in corruption.

Earlier, the Union Home Minister launched a scathing attack on the CM, saying he had never seen a man, who took as many 'U-turns' as Arvind Kejriwal. Accusing Kejriwal of scams worth crores, the Union Home Minister said, "I have never seen a more shameless person in my life (than Kejriwal). After Lalu-ji was sentenced (in the fodder case), he stepped down as (Bihar) CM. However, Kejriwal continues to cling on to his chair." (With agency inputs)

Read more