Talks to convert Delhi into full UT, alleges Kejriwal; says move will face stiff resistance

Arwind Kejriwal hits out at Centre amid rumours that the Union government may decide to dissolve the Delhi Assembly and turn it into a full-fledged Union Territory.

New Delhi:AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged there are talks that the Centre may dissolve Delhi Assembly and convert the city into a full Union territory, asserting that any such move will face stiff resistance from residents. Speaking in the assembly on the second day of the monsoon session, the Delhi chief minister claimed there are talks that there will be no elections here.

"There are talks that they (BJP) will convert Delhi into a full Union Territory (UT) and there will be no next elections. By hating Kejriwal, you have started hating the country," Kejriwal said to BJP MLAs in the House. He said "Kejriwal is not important, but the county is".

Hitting out at the BJP-led Centre, the Delhi chief minister said, They fear the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and that is why they do not want elections. Kejriwal will keep coming and going. Kejriwal is not important, but if you stop conducting elections and shred the Constitution, this country will be finished."

Talking to reporters later, Kejriwal said the Bharatiya Janata Party is not able to control the AAP so there are talks that they want to dissolve the Delhi Assembly. Senior BJP leaders are saying that Delhi will be made a full Union territory and the assembly will be dissolved. But if this happens, Delhi's public will not keep sitting silently. Delhiites will come on streets against the move, he asserted.

He further said the central government has unleashed its agencies ED, CBI and police behind AAP ministers and MLAs because it "fears" the ruling party in Delhi. Other parties in the country are breaking away or bowing down (before BJP). The AAP is the only party which makes them wet their pants. AAP is the only party which their (BJP's) two top leaders fear, Kejriwal said in the House.

Speaking during a discussion on delay in MCD elections, Kejriwal said that BJP is threatening people that they have ED, CBI and police and they will get legislative assembly elections cancelled too by making Delhi a full Union territory. He said that Satyendar Jain gave the Mohalla Clinic' model to the world and Delhi is the only city where world-class treatment is offered completely free for all.

BJP wants to slander AAP leaders so people perceive us that we are like them (BJP) that is why Satyendar Jain was sent to jail without cause and yet they fail to prove an iota of corruption in the case. Does Manish Sisodia look like a thief to anyone? The BJP is after him now. They are saying they'll arrest him in August. I say it loud and clear - this man ensured a bright future for 18 lakh children, the day he is sent to jail will be the darkest in our history, the chief minister alleged in the House.

The CM invoked a dialogue from Bollywood movie Deewar' and said that the BJP is threatening Delhiites that they have ED, CBI, Income Tax department, and Delhi Police, what do they have. Two crore Delhiites say in unison that they have their son, Kejriwal. That's why they fear us. Like a goon on the streets, they want to harm me, but the people have warned them to not even think of that, he quipped.

Kejriwal said that there are notices against some AAP MLAs like Atishi, Amanatullah and also the party volunteers. All AAP volunteers, MLAs, ministers should be ready to go to jail, we do not fear them (BJP). People like Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia who are bravely fighting against the BJP are the Bhagat Singhs of our times, Kejriwal said.

The CM went ahead to talk about how the central government has been causing administrative delays to create problems for the elected government of Delhi.

I was invited to Singapore to explain the Delhi Model to the world but these people have thrown my file into some lost corner to stop me. I think this is the first instance in the country where a prime minister is himself placing hurdles in a chief minister's foreign trip clearance, Kejriwal alleged.

He also alleged that last year, he was invited to a conference in Copenhagen and asked to speak about the improvement in the air quality in the city but then too the Centre did not let him attend the conference. Kejriwal also targeted the saffron party over reports of alleged invasion of China on Indian territory and alleged that the Centre was busy with petty issues.

He alleged that the police of Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh were fighting over the arrest of a TV news anchor. Similarly, when the Punjab Police had come to Delhi to arrest an accused in a case, the Delhi Police put their foot forward and tried to save the culprit, he said.

What have you done in this country? Instead of fighting against China, the BJP has got police from one state to fight with another. Should the cops from all the states not get together and fight against China instead? China has managed to enter our territory and threaten us, but we are not fighting against it, but instead fighting against each other, Kejriwal said in the House.

The AAP chief also hit out at the BJP for spoiling the country's atmosphere and said that when the police were investigating the Udaipur tailor killing case, they found out that one of the two accused in the murder was a member of the BJP. Also recently, a terrorist associated with the Lashkar-e-Taiba was arrested with explosives in Jammu, and he was also found to be a member of the BJP, he alleged.

Today, before coming here I just Googled 'rapists in BJP' and came across a long list of names. Until now, we have known the BJP to be a party of gangsters, thugs and liars. But now, terrorists also seem to get added to this list. The times we are currently living in are a 'dark phase' for this nation, the AAP leader claimed.

He said that recently an entourage of 22 leaders from Gujarat came to Delhi, which included an ex-education minister as well. They wanted to expose the AAP model of governance but could not find a single fault or shortfall, the CM claimed. (PTI)