Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday launched a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, accusing them of trying to "crush" the Aam Aadmi Party in the name of fighting corruption as they feared a defeat in Gujarat polls.
Addressing the first-ever national conclave of his party's elected representatives, Kejriwal also alleged that the Modi government has been trying to frame his party ministers and leaders in false corruption cases as the BJP is "not able to digest the growing popularity of the AAP in Gujarat".
Hitting back, the BJP alleged that AAP is resorting to the "old drama" it does before every election and dubbed Kejriwal a "megalomaniac".BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra accused the AAP chief of "glorifying" corruption and said he has a history of defending his "tainted" colleagues before they had to quit due to mounting evidence.
Kejriwal said the AAP is being discussed all over Gujarat, despite the mainstream media "being threatened against giving any coverage to the party" as social media has provided people with access to information.
“The AAP is just a 10-year-old party. It is fighting with powerful forces and killing many devils like corruption and price rise just the way Kanha (Lord Krishna) killed many devils when he was young,” he said.
The Delhi chief minister defended his deputy Manish Sisodia, jailed minister Satyendar Jain and MLA Amanatullah Khan, who are facing corruption charges, alleging that the Modi government has put the CBI, the ED and other agencies after his leaders to frame them in “false cases”.
“It's a conspiracy to crush AAP, not any fight against corruption. They just want to stop AAP,” he charged. The Delhi chief minister said the BJP is rattled by his party's growing popularity in Gujarat. "We are going to form our government in Gujarat," he asserted.
Kejriwal alleged the BJP has “purchased” 285 MLAs all over the country so far to topple other parties’ governments under 'Operation Lotus' and “spent Rs 7,000-Rs 8,000 crore” on it. “You are committing corruption, buying MLAs openly with looted money. Yet, you have the audacity to say from the ramparts of the Red Fort that you are fighting against corruption,” he charged in a veiled attack at the prime minister.
Kejriwal also targeted the prime minister and the BJP over their pitch against “freebies”, saying they are against it as they are not able to figure out how to fund free facilities for people. “They are neither able to swallow the ‘revadi’ nor throw it out,” he said.
"Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, who is in Germany, will participate in the day-long conclave through video conference during its concluding session in the evening,” AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
(With PTI Inputs)
