BJP asked me to join party; not going to no matter what: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

The BJP denied the allegations in their entirety and said that the chief minister was evading an investigation into alleged corruption by the AAP government

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday alleged that all investigative agencies have been unleashed on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) “to frame false cases”, and added that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has asked him to joined the party, which he has refused.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at the foundation stone-laying of two new school buildings in Sector 41, at Rohini, Kirari, in New Delhi on Sunday. (Atishi-X)

He was speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of four new government schools in Kirari at Sector 41, Rohini, in northwest Delhi. The new government schools will be operational by next January. The schools will operate in two shifts, accommodating around 10,000 students with over 100 classrooms, laboratories, libraries, activity rooms, lifts, and other modern facilities.

Kejriwal’s statement came amid an ongoing barrage of allegations from both sides — AAP saying that the BJP was trying to poach its MLAs and the BJP alleging a series of corruption cases against the AAP government.

Read Here: After Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Police at Atishi's home over 'BJP poaching’ claims

The BJP, meanwhile, denied the allegations in their entirety and said that the chief minister was evading an investigation into alleged corruption by the AAP government.

Reiterating the claim that the BJP has been trying to poach AAP workers, the chief minister said that conspiracies have been hatched to derail the development work of the AAP government in Delhi.

“They have hatched all their conspiracies but they could not bend us. Even if Kejriwal is jailed, the schools and hospitals will continue to be developed... They can hatch any conspiracy against us... I am not going to bend. They are asking me to join BJP and will spare us if I do but I have said that I am not going to join BJP no matter what,” Kejriwal said while addressing the gathering.

Kejriwal also spoke about the development work carried out by the AAP government in the health and education sectors and unauthorised colonies. He said that the Centre spends only 4% of the national budget on schools and hospitals, whereas the Delhi government has spent 40% on the same over the last eight years.

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He also spoke about jailed senior party functionaries Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh. “All agencies are after us. Sisodia’s fault is that he was building good schools. Satyendar Jain’s fault is that he was getting good hospitals and Mohalla clinics built. Had Sisodia not been working for the betterment of school infrastructure, he would not have been arrested,” added Kejriwal.

He said that the party was blessed by the goodwill of students who have received good education and people who have received healthcare. “Continue showering your blessings and I do not wish to have anything else,” he added.

Kejriwal said that more than new development work is being carried out in Kirari, including new schools, Mohalla clinics.

Responding to Kejriwal’s allegations, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that Kejriwal was afraid of investigations by the probe agencies. “They (the AAP government) are engulfed in corruption and theft and that is why they are afraid of the investigations. That is why he (Kejriwal) is lying. He wants to distract and trick people of Delhi and that is why he is dreaming about things that will never happen,” he added.

Later in the day, Kejriwal posted on X in Hindi: “If we have done something wrong, we would have joined BJP like the others did and got our cases closed. When we have not done anything wrong then why should we join BJP? All the cases filed against us are false. All the cases will end, if not today then tomorrow. No work in Delhi will be allowed to stop. As long as I breathe, I will continue to serve the country and society.”