Kejriwal says drugs sold everywhere in Delhi, blames Centre

Kejriwal made the remarks while participating in a discussion in the Delhi assembly on the “increasing sale and consumption of drugs” in the national capital

Former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal — the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener — on Wednesday alleged that illegal narcotics are being sold “everywhere” in the city, and claimed that “most” of these drugs are coming from Gujarat, targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre for what he said was the deterioration of law and order in the Capital.

Kejriwal squarely put the blame on the Delhi Police (PTI)

Kejriwal made the remarks while participating in a discussion in the Delhi assembly on the “increasing sale and consumption of drugs” in the national capital. He also claimed that during his tenure as chief minister, “pressure” was put on him to “hand over” Delhi’s discoms to “Adani”.

The BJP hit back, accusing Kejriwal of “exaggerating” incidents in Delhi.

The winter session of the Delhi assembly concluded on Wednesday.

During the second half of the final session, AAP legislator Rohit Kumar, the Trilokpuri lawmaker, initiated a short duration discussion in the House under Rule-55 on the “increasing sale and consumption of drugs in Delhi and inaction of Delhi Police in controlling it”.

Joining the discussion, BJP MLA and leader of the opposition Vijender Gupta claimed that the AAP has supported the sale of drugs after coming to power.

“The AAP does not want to discuss important issues affecting the people… The Delhi government is providing shelter to Rohingyas and drug dealers, which has led to an increase in drug trafficking and crime in Delhi,” he said.

However, Kejriwal squarely put the blame on the Delhi Police.

“Everywhere I go, people say that drugs are being sold everywhere on a large scale… Drugs are being sold in every shop, grocery and paan shop. The people are suffering. Where are the drugs coming from?” he said.

Flagging some recent drugs haul from Delhi, including the recovery of 562kg cocaine from Mahipalpur in October, Kejriwal said, “Factories of drugs are openly being run in Gujarat and the raw materials are being supplied from through sea routes… The drugs being seized anywhere in the country turn out to have been supplied from Gujarat… The responsibility to check drugs rests with [Union home minister] Amit Shah. The sale of drugs at such a scale cannot be done without the protection or carelessness of the government.”

Kejriwal also claimed that during his tenure as the Delhi CM, he was pressured to “hand over” the Capital’s discoms to the Adani Group. He, however, did not elaborate on who put pressure on him.

“With full responsibility, I want to say today that when I was the chief minister pressure was put on me to hand over the power discoms to Adani… The power tariff would have become so costly that people would not have been able to foot the bills… I was wondering whether that was the reason I was put in jail because they got angry,” he said.

The Adani Group did not comment on Kejriwal’s remarks.

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva meanwhile accused Kejriwal of “exaggerating certain incidents” in the assembly.

“Several AAP MLAs have criminal records but Arvind Kejriwal remains silent on them and instead plays politics over certain criminal incidents, exposing his corrupt face. If some criminal incidents occurred in Delhi recently, the Delhi Police swiftly arrested the criminals, but Arvind Kejriwal takes no action against his criminal navratnas,” Sachdeva said in a statement.

He also claimed that Kejriwal has been “rattled” after the BJP demanded an investigation into Delhi’s power discoms.

“When the BJP made it clear that we will not discontinue subsidies but extend their benefits to the middle class, Arvind Kejriwal started fabricating stories about handing over power discoms to Adani,” the statement said.

Kejriwal condemns Sukhbir assassination bid

Speaking in the assembly, Kejriwal said the Punjab Police averted a major tragedy by nabbing Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s would-be assassin.

“I strongly condemn this incident in the harshest terms. However, one thing is clear: a huge conspiracy is being hatched to defame Punjab and the people of Punjab. And behind this, there are very powerful forces involved that want to tarnish Punjab and its people,” Kejriwal said.

Earlier in the day, a gunman at the Golden Temple in Amritsar shot at — but missed — Badal, 62, who was performing sewa (service) as penance for “mistakes” made during the SAD’s government in Punjab in 2007-17.