Not allowed to visit Haryana village, Arvind Kejriwal says BJP government afraid of AAP

Arvind Kejriwal was scheduled to visit a dispensary in Karnal’s Bal Pabana village in Haryana and address a public meeting.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that he was not allowed to visit Karnal’s Bal Pabana village in Haryana and stopped at Panipat.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that he was not allowed to visit Karnal’s Bal Pabana village in Haryana and stopped at Panipat. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Kejriwal was scheduled to visit a dispensary in the village and address a public meeting. Talking to Hindustan Times at PWD rest house in Panipat amid heavy police deployment, Keriwal accused the BJP government of not allowing a ‘Haryanvi’ to visit a village of his own state.

“This is enough to prove that the BJP government in the state is worried over the increase in support given to the AAP. That explains why they only stopped us from visiting the village,” he said. He claimed that police officials attributed the reason of stopping him at Panipat to their inability to lift the blockades.

Kejriwal said he would keep visiting Haryana and nobody could stop him. “How can anyone by stopped like this? What is Mr Khattar afraid of?” Kejriwal asked in a tweet.

Kejriwal had on November 2 written to Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, asking him to visit a mohalla clinic set up by the AAP government in Delhi, while he expressed interest in visiting a dispensary in Haryana. However, he said no response came from Khattar. But he was visiting the state on being invited by the villagers.

In another tweet, he said the BJP government, despite knowing that Pakistanis were the perpetrators, allowed them to visit Pathankot after attack, but was preventing him to visit a hospital in his own country.

Kejriwal said it was the insult of people who had invited him to their village.

Addresses rally from mobile phone

Kejriwal later addressed the rally at Bal Pabana through a call and thanked the people for making arrangements for his visit.

“We have improved the condition of schools and government hospitals in Delhi and would do the same in Haryana if voted to power,” he said.

However, Panipat deputy commissioner refuted the allegations that Kejriwal was stopped and said, “ We did not stop anybody. As there was traffic congestion, we had informed him about the problems he may face.”

Tractor-trolleys blocked the way

The main road leading to the village had tractor-trolleys parked on it. The protesters did not disclose their identity, but AAP’s state president Naveen Jaihind claimed that they were BJP workers, who were told to block the roads.

However, a protester present on the Ballah-Bal Pabana road said, “We have decided not to allow Kejriwal to enter the village as he had ditched social activist Anna Hazare.”