Sunita Kejriwal speaks during a protest rally against the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party's main leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, at the Ramlila Ground in New Delhi, India March 31, 2024.
Credit: Reuters
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday drew upon the I.N.D.I.A. rally to position Sunita Kejriwal, who is fast emerging as the voice of the Delhi CM, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi Liquor Policy case. During her speech at the rally, she read out a letter from her husband Arvind Kejriwal, sharing the stage with the wives of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren as well as AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Satyender Jain.
She took to the stage to list out six guarantees to the people of the state by the incarcerated CM that the AAP will implement if they are voted to power. Among them was free electricity, free healthcare for the poor as well as statehood for Delhi. Sonia Gandhi, who arrived at the rally a while after it started, shared the stage with her and sat next to her in a show of support.
With top opposition leaders in attendance, Sunita said that Prime minister Narendra Modi has sent her husband to jail. “Do you all believe that my husband is an honest man or not? Do you believe he is a patriot or not? These people from BJP say that Kejriwal is in jail, and so he must resign … They arrested him. Your Kejriwal ji is a lion, they will not be able to keep him in jail for long,” she said.
Sunita then read the Delhi CM’s letter who urged people to help him build a ‘new India’.
“I am not asking you to vote for me. I am not asking you to make anyone a winner or loser in the upcoming elections. Today, I seek cooperation from 140 crore people to make this country ‘Bada Bharat’. I invite 140 crore citizens to make ‘Naya Bharat’,” she read out.
“I am in jail, here I get a lot of time to think. I think about Mother India, Mother India is in pain when people do not get a good education, without proper treatment, power cuts occur, roads are broken,” the Delhi CM’s letter further read.
Sunita then read out the six guarantees that Kejriwal made in his missive, which included full statehood to Delhi, 24/7 electricity across the country, and free electricity for the poor. The AAP convenor has also promised Minimum Support Price to farmers under the Swaminathan Commission, Mohalla clinics in every village and a central hospital in every districts for free healthcare, and ‘excellent’ government schools in every village.
“If you give opportunity to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc, we will build a great nation,” Sunita added sharing the stage with Kalpana Soren, the wife of former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren who has been held by ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
With mounting speculation on who might take over as the chief minister if Kejriwal resigns, the party has positioned her as the emissary of her husband. In the ten days since his arrest, Sunita Kejriwal has also taken to social media to post video messages, as she acts as the communication link between the party cadre and Delhi CM.
Two days ago, she launched a “Kejriwal ko Aashirwaad” campaign, urging people to send messages and wishes to her husband via a WhatsApp number.
Like her husband, Sunita Kejriwal is an Indian Revenue Services officer who voluntarily retired from services in 2016. She was often seen with Arvind Kejriwal during the Indian Against Corruption movement, and took leave from work to help him during the 2014 elections when he contested against Narendra Modi from Varanasi. After he won the Delhi assembly elections in 2015 with a resounding victory, he shared a stage with her, thanking her for her support.
After many false starts and despite differences over seat-sharing arrangements, several bigwigs of the I.N.D.I.A. alliance on Sunday shared the stage in support of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal.
The Ramlila Maidan conclave in downtown Delhi was an Aam Aadmi Party show but it provided a setting for what appears to be yet another move to unite opposition for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.