Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal addresses a party workers’ congregation, in New Delhi.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asserted his party will emerge victorious in Delhi in Lok Sabha polls even if he is arrested, and told his party workers to visit every household here and ask people if he should continue as chief minister even from jail, if it comes to that, or resign.
He claimed ruling BJP has plans to get him arrested to derail the Aam Aadmi Paryt's campaign for the Lok Sabha polls. They will target leaders from different regional parties as well, he said.
Sounding the poll bugle, he asked party workers to tell people about the 'conspiracies' of the BJP and ensure the saffron party doesn't get a single seat here in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing an AAP 'karyakarta sammelan' (congregation of workers) here, he asserted the Aam Aadmi Party will win in Delhi even if he is arrested. 'I have no lust for the chief minister's post. I am probably the world's first chief minister who resigned after 49 days without anyone asking me to do so,' he said.
Earlier this month, Kejriwal skipped an Enforcement Directorate summons for questioning in an excise policy-linked case and wrote to the agency demanding the withdrawal of the notice, claiming it was 'illegal and politically motivated'. The AAP has since been alleging that Kejriwal will be arrested.
'I have held meetings with councillors and MLAs who said that I should continue being the chief minister if I am arrested,' Kejriwal said.
'I am assigning you a task -- go to every household, talk to people, ask them whether I should continue as chief minister from the jail and tell them about BJP's conspiracies. Ensure that they do not get a single seat here. This will be campaigning for Lok Sabha polls,' he told the party workers.
The AAP national convener said the BJP knows it cannot defeat the AAP in Delhi and that is why it is 'hatching conspiracies' and putting AAP leaders in jail.
'Modi ji, you cannot defeat the AAP in Delhi in this lifetime! To defeat the AAP, you will have to be reborn. Even if I am put behind bars, the AAP will win in Delhi,' he said.
Kejriwal also talked about his former cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, who have been arrested in different cases.
'There is one person -- Manish Sisodia -- who brought an education revolution in the country but he is in jail. Satyendar Jain, who brought a health revolution, is out on interim bail. Four of our leaders are in jail today.' 'They are an inspiration. Don't be scared of going to jail. If Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia leave the AAP today, they will be out of jail within 24 hours,' he said.
'If you feel weak, you should consider these leaders as your inspiration, who are following the path of Bhagat Singh,' Kejriwal added.
He also said the BJP had plans to target leaders from different regional parties in the lead up to Lok Sabha polls to derail their election campaign.
'They have planned to put me in jail to ensure that AAP cannot campaign in Lok Sabha polls. They have planned something similar in Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand. But I challenge you (BJP) -- you put these leaders behind bars and you might just be cleaned up at these places,' he said.
The chief minister also said the AAP has grown from strength to strength within a short span of 10 years to become a national party.
'We have got the status of a national party. There are 1,350 registered parties and we left them behind and are only behind BJP and Congress. The way it is growing, one day the AAP will rule the country leaving behind BJP and Congress,' he said.