New Delhi: Blowing the cracks within the INDIA bloc wide open, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal launched a sharp counterattack against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, targeting him over the National Herald case and land grab case involving Robert Vadra.
Kejriwal was responding to comments made by Gandhi at a poll rally in Delhi on Tuesday. Gandhi claimed that Kejriwal was "afraid" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, that the "liquor scam" took place under his watch while he was engrossed in "sheesh mahal politics".
"Don't preach on fear and bravery. The country knows who is a coward and who is brave," Kejriwal said in a post on X. The AAP supremo lashed out at Gandhi, raising questions about his family's alleged immunity from investigations under the BJP regime.
"Modi puts people in jail even by making fake cases like the liquor scam. Why haven't you and your family been arrested in open-and-shut cases like National Herald? How did Robert Vadra get a clean chit from BJP? It is better if you don't preach on fear and bravery," Kejriwal posted in Hindi.
He also shared a short clip of Gandhi saying: "I am not sure about other party's leaders whether they are afraid of PM Modi or not but Arvind Kejriwal trembles in front of the PM."
Kejriwal's comments were in response to Gandhi's speech at a rally in Patparganj earlier in the day, where he mocked Kejriwal's shift from simple living to living in a "Sheesh Mahal" -- a reference to the BJP's allegations of extravagant expenditure on the former CM's official residence.
Gandhi also accused Kejriwal of failing to act during critical moments of crisis such as the 2020 Delhi riots. In another post, Kejriwal said, "People are asking why Rahul Gandhi is silent on 'Rajmahal' Today, Rahul ji repeated BJP's speech in Delhi. Tell the public what agreement has been reached between the BJP and Congress?"
The remarks have further strained the tenuous alliance between the Congress and AAP under the opposition INDIA bloc that was formed ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
While the INDIA alliance had brought the two parties together for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, their rivalry in Delhi has revealed underlying fissures, with the Congress campaigning vigorously to reclaim its lost ground. The two parties have contested assembly polls separately after jointly contesting the Lok Sabha polls.
Meanwhile, the AAP that has ruled Delhi for over a decade faces a tough fight from the BJP, which is seeking to end its 25-year absence from power in the capital.
As key INDIA allies like Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress and Akhilesh Yadav's Samajwadi Party extend their support to Kejriwal in Delhi, Congress remains focused on reviving its dominance after its decline post-Sheila Dikshit's tenure.
With polling just days away on February 5 and results set to be declared on February 8, the war of words between Kejriwal and Gandhi adds fuel to an already intense electoral battle.
