A day after his release on an interim bail, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with wife Sunita by his side along with Punjab chief Minister Bhagwant Mann offered prayers at the Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place in Delhi before heading to the party office.
Kejriwal along with top party leaders, Bhagwant Mann, Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Pathak, Atishi, Saurabh Bhardwaj and Imran Hussain, launched a scathing attack on the BJP. After offering prayers at the Hanuman Temple, Kejriwal said it is because of the blessings of Lord Hanuman that he is amongst people again. “Our party is just 10 years old. In 10 years, we have formed governments in two states. Yet, the prime minister has left no stone unturned to crush AAP”. He said, “At one point, they sent four of our party’s top leaders in jail. When four top leaders are behind bars at the same time, any party is crushed. They had thought that the party will be over, however, this is not a party, it is an ideology”.
The AAP office was flooded with supporters and media personnel, with some even from abroad. The atmosphere mimicked that of an election victory with the mood upbeat, sloganeering, with aloo puri and halwa being served to supporters.
Continuing his attack on the BJP, the AAP chief said, “Modi ji has started a very dangerous Mission and that is ‘One Nation, One Leader’ by extinguishing the political career of opposition leaders by sending them to jail. If they win the elections, not that I believe that that they will, you can take it from me in the form of an affidavit that after a few days, they will put Mamata Banerjee, Tejaswi Yadav, Stalin and his ministers, Pinarayi Vijayan in jail”.
Kejriwal did not stop there. Seeking to capitalise on the internal power equations within the BJP, the chief minister claimed that they (the PM) have extinguished the political career of Advani, Murli Mohan Joshi, Shivraj Singh Chauhan, who won them the elections. “The next target will be Yogi Adityanath. If they win elections, they will finish Yogi Adityanath in two months”.
Kejriwal then sought to answer a question that the BJP has been asking the opposition in these elections – “who is your prime ministerial candidate?” “These people are asking the INDIA Gathbandhan who will be your Prime Ministerial candidate? I want to ask the BJP instead, who will be your Prime Ministerial candidate? Next year, on September 17, the Prime Minister will turn 75. Modi ji himself has made the rule that the retirement age is 75 years. Modi ji will retire next year on September 17”. The Delhi Chief Minister then said, “Modi ji is asking for votes not for himself but for Amit Shah. Who will fulfil Modi ji’s guarantee? Will Amit Shah fulfil Modi ji’s guarantee?”
With inputs from News18
