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Kejriwal says AAP cleared ‘agnipariksha’, dares PM Modi to hold Assembly polls in Delhi
This comes after a trial court discharged Kejriwal and 22 others in the excise policy case, while also pulling up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said his party had cleared the “agnipariksha” (trial by fire), after the court ruling on the excise policy case.
Kejriwal further dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi to conduct Assembly elections in Delhi again, claiming that AAP would register a victory if the polls were to be held now, news agency PTI reported.
This comes after a trial court discharged Kejriwal and 22 others in the excise policy case, while also pulling up the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The court said the agency's case was wholly unable to survive judicial scrutiny, and stood discredited.
‘Wasn’t easy, faced difficulties at every step’: What Kejriwal said
Speaking about the verdict, the AAP leader said some people had been asking why he had stayed silent for the past one year. “There are politicians who are thick-skinned. But I am a common man like you. If someone says that Kejriwal is a dishonest person then I feel bad. I had decided that I will keep quiet till the court gives the verdict,” he stated.
Kejriwal further charged at the BJP, alleging that they “put behind bars five of our leaders and grabbed power in Delhi.” He challenged PM Modi to hold polls in Delhi now, alleging that if this is done, “BJP will win not even 10 seats, while the AAP will bag more than 60 seats.”
The AAP leader also spoke about the case, saying “it was not easy.” “There were difficulties at every step. We faced the worst of the situation...” PTI cited Kejriwal as saying. He also drew parallels to the Ramayana, saying, “When Lord Ram defeated Ravan and came back to Ayodhya, even Sita Mata had to undergo agnipariksha.”
CBI appeals against trial court order
Meanwhile, the CBI appealed against the trial court's order discharging Kejriwal and others, with the Delhi High Court asking the former CM and 22 others to file their replies by April 5. The bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has fixed April 6 as the date for the next hearing.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court appealing the decision of the Delhi high court chief justice who rejected his plea to transfer the case from Sharma’s bench.
The trial court, in the 601-page order by Jitendra Singh of Rouse Avenue, had said that CBI's material did not even disclose a prima facie case, and also directed a departmental inquiry against the agency's investigating officer.
