New Delhi: AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal addresses during 'Janta Ki Adalat, at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: In his first public address after being out on bail, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal accused prime minister Narendra Modi of trying to defame him and paint him as a corrupt man. In a public event called ‘Janti ki Adalat’ (people’s court) at Jantar Mantar, Kejriwal said that it was due to the conspiracy that several leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party were put in jail.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi conspired against us. He conspired to prove me and (AAP leader) Manish Sisodia corrupt. He tried to taint our image," Kejriwal said.
He added that he resigned because he is not “hungry for power”.
“If Arvind Kejriwal is dishonest, would he have made electricity free? Would he have made bus fares for women free? Would he have built schools for children? Would he have made treatment in hospitals free? The BJP is in power in 22 states. Have they made electricity or bus rides free for women in any of the states,” he asked.
The event, Kejriwal said, was held so that he could answer the people.
The former CM, who was released on bail on September 15, also posed questions to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. In this new political strategy, the AAP chief demanded answers from the RSS for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's and the BJP party's actions, implying that the 'parent' Hindutva organisation was the master which should keep its 'child' in control.
'Has the son become so big now?'
“BJP president JP Nadda said during the Lok Sabha elections that he does not need the RSS. Has the son grown so much that he has started showing his displeasure to a motherly institution. Didn’t you feel sad when he said this,” Kejriwal said, demanding five answers from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat.
The questions he asked were all political softballs but the implication of bringing Bhagwat into his new political narrative is new and unusual.
Kejriwal wanted to know if the RSS agreed with the BJP's politics of using central agencies to break up parties and topple opposition governments, and inducting "corrupt" leaders into its fold. “The RSS says that they are nationalists and patriots. I want to Mohan Bhagwat ji – the way Modi ji is breaking parties and bringing down governments across the country by luring them or threatening them with ED and CBI, is this correct? Modi ji has included the most corrupt leaders in his party. Does he agree with such politics,” he asked.
Delhi’s former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who is out on bail, too, claimed that there was an attempt to turn on Kejriwal. “They tried to break me. I was told that Arvind Kejriwal had framed me. They told the court that Arvind Kejriwal named Manish Sisodia. I was told in the jail, ‘name Kejriwal, you will be saved’,” Sisodia said.
In his first 'Janta ki Adalat' public meeting at Jantar Mantar following his resignation as Delhi chief minister, Kejriwal also asked Bhagwat if the BJP's rule on age of retirement would apply to Modi as it did for LK Advani.
While Kejriwal was addressing the gathering, the BJP held a protest against him and AAP on issues of corruption at Connaught Place, barely a kilometre away from Jantar Mantar.
The saffron party held another protest against Kejriwal at Rajghat on the same issue.
AAP colours flood Jantar Mantar
Jantar Mantar, on the other hand, was awash with AAP's signature blue and yellow colours as hundreds of supporters filled the site with banners that declared Kejriwal as "one of us", affirming their unwavering belief in his innocence.
As Kejriwal took the stage, the site echoed with slogans of "Na rukega, na jhukega…" while some AAP supporters held up posters bearing messages such as "Hamare Kejriwal imaandar hai".
Kejriwal -- who was released on bail from Tihar jail on September 13 after over five months in prison in connection with the excise policy case -- asserted to the crowd that he joined politics to serve the country and not for any greed for power or post.
The former chief minister also said he resigned because he was hurt by the corruption allegations against him and added that he had only earned respect, not money, during the past 10 years.
He also asked the assembled crowd if they thought he was a "thief" or those who sent him to jail were "thieves".
Kejriwal said the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls were an "agni pariksha (trial by fire)" for him and urged people not to vote for him if they thought he was dishonest.
The AAP supremo added he would move out of the chief minister's official residence after the "shraddh" period during Navratri and go live among the people, who had been offering him accommodation.
(With PTI inputs)