Divine intervention rescued democracy in Chandigarh: Kejriwal

In his 17-minute speech, the Delhi chief minister credited the Supreme Court for its verdict in the Chandigarh mayor elections

In a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) a day after the Supreme Court verdict in the Chandigarh mayor elections, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the party represents “adharma” (injustice) and uses all means to rig elections and topple governments.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal speaks during the Budget session of the Delhi assembly on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

The Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned the results of Chandigarh mayoral polls and declared the Aam Aadmi Party candidate (AAP) the winner. The  controversy erupted last month when the returning officer of the polls was caught on camera brazenly defacing ballots before declaring the BJP candidate the winner though the AAP and Congress alliance had more votes.

“In Chandigarh, they rigged the election to turn the loser into winner. Same thing had happened in Pakistan elections. In Pakistan, the Rawalpindi election commissioner had confessed that election was rigged. They have turned our country into Pakistan. What our country had achieved in the last 75 years has been erased in one stroke,” Kejriwal said during a speech in the Delhi legislative assembly.

In his 17-minute speech, the CM said that “divine intervention” has taken place in the case of Chandigarh elections, crediting the Supreme Court for its verdict.

He also said that “only injustice” is prevailing under the BJP’s rule. “Manish Sisodia, who tried to provide good education to poor children is in jail, and Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh is in power. Satyendar Jain who provided Mohalla Clinics is in jail and most corrupt people....are being added to their party and enjoying pleasures of power,” he said. The reference was to two AAP leaders who were arrested for their alleged roles in excise and money-laundering cases, and the BJP strongman who headed the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) despite charges of assault by women athletes.

The BJP, in response, said that the Delhi CM will soon be going to jail -- a reference to repeated summons to him by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise case that he has skipped.

During his speech, Kejriwal alleged that the BJP uses “all tactics” to win elections.

“They will manipulate EVM, use ED, and topple governments just to win elections. All opposition leaders are being put in jail so that there is no one left to fight elections. They sealed the accounts of the Congress and now it is being discussed that the AAP’s accounts will be frozen.”

Bringing up the Chandigarh mayor polls, Kejriwal said: “In Chandigarh election, they tried to rob democracy.... BJP was trying to get the cameras switched off but they remained functional. They tried everything but the cameras continued to record everything that was being done. It seemed as if there was some divine intervention in the Supreme Court as well.... It appeared as if God was speaking in the voice of Chief Justice of India. We want to thank the CJI for saving democracy in such tough times.”

The chief minister added that it was clear the battle now was between “dharma and adharma”, and concluded his speech to chants of “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” and “Jai Shri Ram”.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor, on his part, mocked the CM for invoking Ram and Krishna at a time when he was in the dock. “No matter how much he invokes the gods, Kejriwal will have to go to jail. We are pleased to see that the chief minister has become Ram and Krishna devotee. A few years back, he used to say that instead of temple, schools and hospitals should be built. When a person is facing a crisis, he remembers god,” Kapoor said.

Kejriwal on Wednesday also came out strongly in support of the protesting farmers who have been stopped at the Punjab Haryana border from proceeding towards Delhi, saying that they should be provided a designated space to protest peacefully, and added that there is nothing wrong in seeking adequate compensation for farm produce.

Speaking in the Delhi assembly, the chief minister said that the farmers want to come to Delhi, and being the capital of the country everyone should be allowed to come here.

“They have no arms or weapons and they should be allowed to come to Delhi. We also started our protest at Ramlila Maidan. Provide them Ramlila Maidan where they can sit and protest peacefully. Everyone has the right to raise their issues under Article 19 of the Constitution,” he said.

“They will not give the just rates for crops and on top of it won’t allow them to protest either, ” the Delhi chief minister said.