‘Vote decisively to save democracy’: CM’s wife hits welfare note in first roadshow

Kejriwal said that earlier, a person would go to jail when a courts would hold them guilty but under the “new system” people are being kept in jail till a case and its investigation goes on. BJP rapped the Kejriwal’s taking the family politics route and referred to Sunita as “Rabri Devi”.

Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who is currently in judicial custody at the Tihar jail, took part in her first roadshow on Saturday, in Kondli of east Delhi, where she appealed to residents to “vote decisively to remove dictatorship and save democracy”.

Sunita Kejriwal and East Delhi AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar during the roadshow on Saturday. (Ajay Aggarwal/HT Photo)

She said that Kejriwal was jailed for working for the people of Delhi by building good schools and mohalla clinics. Arvind Kejriwal is a “sher (lion)” and “nobody can break him,” she told the public.

“Today, a daughter of this country pleads with you to save the country from dictatorship. You will have to realise the power of your vote. Go to vote on May 25... we will save democracy and remove the dictatorship. Jail ka jawab vote se denge (we will respond to incarceration with votes),” she said, in her two brief speeches during the roadshow in the narrow lanes of Kalyanpuri and Khichdipur.

Appearing through the sunroof of a vehicle and wearing a green suit, Sunita Kejriwal folded her hands to greet residents standing in balconies of their flats and rooftops. The entire route of the roadshow was decked up in blue and yellow party flags and two-storied portraits of Arvind Kejriwal. In his absence, AAP announced that Sunita Kejriwal would spearhead the party’s poll campaign and hold roadshows, in West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday and later in Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.

Sunita Kejriwal arrived at Jalebi Chowk in Kalyanpuri at 5.51pm, with thousands of party workers carrying cutouts of Arvind Kejriwal that read “Miss you, Kejriwal” and of AAP East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar. The roadshow went on for an hour, passing through JJ clusters, regularised and unauthorised colonies, to the sound of drums and music. At multiple points along the route, the AAP set up stations to showcase AAP’s flagship schemes, such as schools and free pilgrimage for the elderly, among others.

Kejriwal said that earlier, a person would go to jail when a courts would hold them guilty but under the “new system” people are being kept in jail till a case and its investigation goes on. “This is total gundagardi ..this is complete dictatorship,” she said.

She reiterated the party’s claims that her husband was not treated well in Tihar. “Arvind ji has sugar (diabetes) from 22 years and he takes 50 units of insulin every day. These people stopped his insulin and his blood sugar level reached more than 300 units, which can damage his kidneys and liver... Do they want to kill Arvind Kejriwal? Shame, shame,” she said.

At her second halt, she spoke about the free power scheme and development of schools. “He made good schools for your children... mohalla clinics... and now he wants to give ₹1,000 to women every month. This is why they arrested him... we will fight this dictatorship and we will win... Jai Hind,” she said.

There was heavy police deployment around Kejriwal’s vehicle, comprising on-ground personnel and drones.

Kumar, who was part of Kejriwal’s entourage, said that the area had first elected him as a municipal councillor, then as an MLA and will now bless him in the upcoming election. “This is a fight between ameeri (rich) and gareebi (poor). AAP is the party of these people with 22 Guz houses. AAP gave free water and electricity, and free DTC bus rides to sisters and now honorarium of ₹1,000 to women.They have jailed Delhi CM and now, the election will be fought by people of Delhi,” he said.

Minister Atishi, who was also part of the roadshow, said that BJP had put Arvind Kejriwal to stop him from campaigning. “Now, lakhs of Arvind Kejriwal will hit the streets of Delhi. This is love of people of Delhi,” she said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal earlier criticised the “pariwarwaad” of Lalu Yadav and Gandhi family, and now, he is going on the same route. “We have seen Rabri Devi on Bihar...today, Delhi has seen the second version of Rabri Devi,” he said.

Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said that the unity of the opposition INDIA bloc was exposed as not a single leader from its coalition partner Congress attended. “The alliance is limited to just seat sharing because the Delhi assembly elections are only seven months away, after the Lok Sabha elections. In such a scenario, no AAP MLA wants a Congress leader to become active again in their area or connect with people.”