"Did we elect a thanedar?": Kejriwal guns for PM Modi over arrests of AAP leaders

Arvind Kejriwal and Narendra Modi. Pics/AFP

With the arrest of his former aide Bibhav Kumar concerning the alleged attack on AAP Rajya Sabha MLA Swati Maliwal creating a huge political storm, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal unleashed a torrent of criticism on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led Centre on Tuesday.

Per an ANI report, the Chief Minister, who is now on temporary bail due to a money laundering case involving the Delhi excise policy that has been halted, questioned whether the people elected a police officer or a prime minister, citing the arrest of multiple party leaders.

Addressing a public rally at Bhajanpura, ahead of polling for the Lok Sabha in the national capital on May 25, the AAP national convenor said, "It is up to you (people). If you vote for the 'Lotus' symbol (of the BJP), I will have to go back to jail. But if you push the 'Hand' symbol (of ally Congress), I may not have to go to jail. They (BJP) have unleashed 'gundagardi' (hooliganism) on the Opposition."

Bringing up the arrests of party heavyweights Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain in separate cases, the CM said, "They put Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh in jail. Now, they have also sent my (former) PA behind bars. They are also planning to send Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi to jail. Did we elect a prime minister or a thanedar?"

The leader of the AAP further asserted that the BJP was attempting to link party leaders to fabricated allegations, and he questioned the governing party in the Central government about whether any money had been found during the multiple raids that were carried out on party leaders in the past.

"They are trying to implicate us in a false and fictitious scam, which they claim to be worth Rs 100 crore. I want to ask them: you conducted over 500 raids. Did you even recover a penny? Where is the 100 crore? Did it vanish into thin air?" Kejriwal asked.

Additionally, on Tuesday night, the AAP convenor conducted a roadshow at Bhajanpura, which is a part of the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. Kanhaiya Kumar of the Congress is running for the seat against Manoj Tiwari, the sitting MP and a powerful member of the BJP.

Kanhaiya also featured in the roadshow led by the AAP chief.

Earlier, on Tuesday, the AAP claimed that the BJP-NDA at the Centre was characterised by 'incompetence and misgovernance', adding that the people of Delhi will teach the ruling party a 'hard lesson' in the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

The ruling party in the national capital also hit back at Union Minister Amit Shah for labelling the AAP as a party mired in corruption.

Earlier, the Union Home Minister launched a scathing attack on the CM, saying he had never seen a man, who took as many 'U-turns' as Arvind Kejriwal.

Accusing Kejriwal of scams worth crores, the Union Home Minister said, "I have never seen a more shameless person in my life (than Kejriwal). After Lalu-ji was sentenced (in the fodder case), he stepped down as (Bihar) CM. However, Kejriwal continues to cling on to his chair."

(With Inputs from ANI)