New Delhi: Former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday came down on his rival from New Delhi Assembly constituency Pravesh Verma for his comments on Punjabis.
Verma had said vehicles registered in Punjab are roaming in Delhi and nobody knows who are in them. Slamming Verma over the statement, Kejriwal asked," Are all Punjabis terrorists, a threat to the country?" He said Punjabis most of whom settled in the national capital after Partition have contributed immensely to the city's development. Kejriwal asked Union Home Minister Amit Shah to apologize for his party candidate's statement. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP Punjab President Aman Arora termed Verma’s remarks as divisive, dangerous, and a direct insult to the Punjabi community and their contributions to India’s unity and security.
On his X account, Mann said, “Delhi is the capital of India, and people from every state live here. Vehicles from every state move freely across the country, and there is no restriction on their movement. BJP’s statement questioning the presence of Punjab-registered vehicles in Delhi is not only appalling but also deeply insulting to Punjabis. They are insinuating that Punjabis are a threat to national security simply because of their state of origin. This is unacceptable and an insult to the patriotism of every Punjabi.”
At the same time, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi levelled allegations against BJP leader Ramesh Bidhuri and his nephew. She said Bidhuri's nephew and other workers threatened Aam Aadmi Party workers in Kalkaji. "In February, our worker Arun Chauhan and several women acttivists were engaged door-to-door campaigning in Giri Nagar when they were abused by nephew," she said. Atishi said on February 19, Bidhuri himself had threatened an AAP woman worker. Apart from this, on January 20, BJP workers misbehaved with AAP workers at Navjivan Camp. "We have complained about these incidents to the Election Commission, but Delhi Police is protecting BJP," she alleged.