New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP on Sunday, saying they were attempting to "destroy" the Aam Aadmi Party in the guise of combating corruption. Kejriwal said, the BJP was afraid of losing the Gujarat Assembly elections.
Speaking at the first-ever national conclave of his party's elected officials, Kejriwal claimed that the Modi government has been attempting to implicate ministers and leaders of his party in fabricated corruption cases because the BJP "cannot digest the growing popularity of the AAP in Gujarat."
The Delhi chief minister defended his deputy Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and MLA Amanatullah Khan, all of whom are accused of engaging in corrupt practises. He claimed that the Modi government had sent the CBI, ED, and other investigative agencies after his leaders in an effort to frame them in "false cases." "It's not a battle against corruption; it's a plot to destroy the AAP. All they want to do is stop AAP "He said. The BJP responded to the AAP's accusations by calling Kejriwal a "megalomaniac" and accusing the AAP of using the "old theatrics" it uses prior to every election.
Sambit Patra, a spokesman for the BJP, charged the AAP leader with "glorifying" corruption and claimed he had a history of standing up for his "tainted" colleagues before they are forced to resign due to overwhelming evidence. In addition to the 92 AAP MLAs from Punjab, the 62 MLAs from Delhi, and the two MLAs from Goa, the party's "Rashtriya Janpratinidhi Sammelan" includes more than 1,400 elected officials from panchayats and urban local authorities from 20 different states. Bhagwant Mann, the chief minister of Punjab, attended via videoconference from his location in Germany.
Speaking at the party's national conclave, Kejriwal claimed that despite the mainstream media "being threatened against giving any coverage to the party," the AAP is being debated all over Gujarat because social media has made it possible for people to get information. "The AAP has only existed for ten years. It is battling with strong forces and exterminating numerous demons, such as corruption and price increases, much like how Kanha (Lord Krishna) exterminated several demons when he was younger" he said.
The chief minister of Delhi claimed that the BJP is rattled by the rise in support for his party in Gujarat. He said, "We are going to establish our government in Gujarat." He said, the BJP has "spent" 7,000–8,000 crores and "bought" 285 MLAs nationwide as part of "Operation Lotus" to overthrow other parties' administrations. "By using stolen funds to blatantly purchase MLAs, you are engaging in corruption. However, you have the gall to claim that you are battling corruption from the Red Fort's ramparts, "In a covert attack on the prime minister, he accused.
The Prime Minister and the BJP were also singled out by Kejriwal for their opposition to "freebies," which he attributed to their inability to come up with a way to pay for people to use free services. He said, "They are unable to swallow the'revadi' or spew it out. He said, if governments are sincere, people can have free services and there will always be money to pay for them.
Kejriwal said that the AAP leaders are being implicated in "false corruption cases" as the BJP is not able to digest its honest politics, freebies, and the developemnts in the education and health sectors". The AAP's leaders are being named in "fake corruption cases" because the BJP cannot stomach their "honest politics, freebies, and work in the education and health sectors."
Kejriwal said more AAP leaders will be arrested in the coming days and asked the party leaders to be ready to go to jail "for three months". He said that the BJP has been so alarmed by the AAP's rising influence ahead of the Gujarat assembly elections that "the prime minister's media advisor Hiren Joshi has warned several (television) channel owners and their editors not to give coverage to the AAP in Gujarat, threatening them with dire consequences." However, Kejriwal offered no proof to support his claims. The PMO and Joshi didn't respond to the AAP chief's accusations right away.
Patra said that Kejriwal is all about "doing little and making a lot of noise" as the AAP leader made significant claims about the prospects of his party and the work of his administration in Delhi. The BJP spokesperson downplayed Kejriwal's assertions by stating that Gujarat has been and will continue to be on a development path.
In a dig at Kejriwal, Patra said, "We are shocked that he did not say that US president Joe Biden is likewise terrified of the AAP." He said that it appears that Kejriwal's certificate of honesty and dishonesty is more significant than the judiciary's.
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