New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday alleged a nexus between the BJP and the Congress, questioning why no “big leader” of the grand old party had been arrested in the National Herald case.
Kejriwal met AAP MLAs and councillors at the Constitution Club here and referred to the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the residence of the party’s Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj.
Recalling how the ED tried to intimidate the AAP leader, the party chief said, “They told him that if he did not comply, it would not be good for him. Saurabh Bharadwaj replied fearlessly that ever since Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair were jailed, he knew his turn would also come.” Kejriwal said Bharadwaj told ED officers he was mentally prepared to spend two years in jail and trusted that in due course, Abhishek Manu Singhvi would secure bail.
“He even told ED officers–‘if you want to arrest me, take me now’,” Kejriwal said.
Rejecting suggestions of compromise, Kejriwal asserted, “Many suggest compromise, but politics does not run on compromises. Closed-door deals do not remain hidden from the public. People are not fools. Today there is widespread talk–some say Mayawati has compromised, some say Owaisi has, but most people now say the Congress has compromised.” Citing examples from Goa, the AAP supremo emphasised, “People ask why the BJP has sent five of AAP’s top leaders to jail but not a single Congress leader. They shout endlessly about the National Herald case, which I myself read about online. As per facts, it looks like an open-and-shut case. Yet despite serious allegations, no one from the Gandhi family has gone to jail, while we are jailed in completely fabricated cases.” Pointing to earlier scandals, he added that before the 2014 elections, the land scams of Haryana were widely discussed and Robert Vadra’s name figured prominently.
“Yet nothing happened to them, while our leaders are thrown behind bars in false cases. In 2014 the BJP built its campaign around ‘jija ji’ (brother-in-law) and corruption, shouting about Vadra, 2G and coal scams. Yet today, all those cases have quietly been shut. The people are not fools. They can see the reality–that Congress and BJP are in a hidden alliance,” he said.
The AAP supremo declared that his party was not born to compromise for power or family.
“We came into politics for the nation. For the country, we can sacrifice our lives. But for posts, party or personal gain, we will never compromise,” he said.
Slamming the BJP government in Delhi, Kejriwal alleged that it had “ruined” the national capital and people were missing the AAP government.
“People are saying that if elections happen today, AAP will win 70 seats. While we were in power, there were no power cuts. I stay in Lutyens Delhi and there are at least five times during the day when there is a power cut.
“There are power cuts, private schools have hiked fees, roads are broken, sewers are jammed. They are demolishing jhuggis (slums) and have made life difficult for the poor,” he charged.
Kejriwal also alleged that the government led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta was planning to end electricity subsidy in Delhi.
“I would tell you to be among the people. In the next elections, you will get a chance at governance, but till then be with the people in their joy and sorrow. Stand with them,” he told AAP legislators. PTI SLB HIG HIG
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