‘False’ cases aimed at slowing down AAP, party to launch outreach: Kejriwal

During a press conference after a meeting with his party’s MLAs and councillors, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal , who is also the AAP’s national convener, launched a broadside against the BJP

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged that the cases against his deputy Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyendar Jain were “fabricated” and that the charges thrust on them would be wiped clean if they were to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), even as he announced a major outreach campaign to spread the word that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders were being “targeted”.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal speaks to reporters after a meeting of party’s MLAs and councillors. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

During a press conference after a meeting with his party’s MLAs and councillors, Kejriwal, who is also the AAP’s national convener, launched a broadside against the BJP, accusing the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of a conspiracy to halt the “party’s good work”.

“If Sisodia and Jain join the BJP today, they will walk out of jail and all the cases against them will end,” he said.

“Their objective is to send the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) and ED (Enforcement Directorate) behind opposition leaders and trouble them,” he added. But the BJP hit back, saying that Kejriwal was making allegations instead of directly addressing the questions raised against his former ministers.

The arrests of Sisodia and Jain were proof of their good work in reforming Delhi’s education and health care, respectively, Kejriwal said.

“Had Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain not done good work in the education and health sectors respectively, they would not have been arrested. The liquor policy is just an excuse. The Prime Minister wants to stop the good work being done in Delhi. It is no coincidence that both our health and education ministers have been arrested,” Kejriwal said. “We’ll not let the work stop. We do not have a shortage of talent. When you arrest (a minister), we will replace them with a better minister,” he added.

Delhi BJP MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri lashed back and said that the AAP had been “avoiding questions” on the excise policy.

“Now they (the AAP) will finally have to justify their transgressions,” he said.

Kejriwal on Wednesday recommended the inclusion of AAP legislators Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj into the state cabinet, a day after Jain and Sisodia quit their positions in the council of ministers. “I want to assure the people of Delhi that work done by the government will not stop at all… Atishi and (Saurabh) Bharadwaj are educated and professional. They will carry forward the good work being done by Sisodia and Jain at double the speed,” Kejriwal said.

Bharadwaj and Atishi are likely to be given key departments such as finance, education, health, public works, power and water – portfolios Sisodia and Jain held earlier.

These departments represent the backbone of the AAP government’s welfare-oriented governance and are key elements of their interface with residents of Delhi. The party prides itself on the government’s work done to improve the Capital’s public education and health care systems during its two full terms in power. Further, the state’s free power and water programmes have been flagship elements of the AAP’s time at the helm of the Capital, schemes on the back of which the party stormed back to power in 2020, clinching 62 seats in the 70-member assembly. As the senior-most ministers, Sisodia and Jain spearheaded these departments, which largely defined the AAP’s “Delhi Model” of governance.

He said AAP leaders will go from door-to-door, and relay to people how the central government was trying to stop work by the AAP government.

“People are deeply upset over the crackdown on opposition leaders. They (BJP) have not been able to digest our victory in Punjab assembly polls. But I want to make it clear that the AAP’s time has come and no one can stop us,” Kejriwal said.