Rejecting allegations that he had made separatist comments ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal on Friday alleged that “corrupt” party leaders had joined hands to make the claims. “I must be the sweetest terrorist in the world for building roads, schools and providing free water and electricity,” Kejriwal told reporters. “It is like a comedy the way they are levelling allegations on me.”
His comments come soon after Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking an inquiry into allegations levelled against Kejriwal by former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas. In an interview Vishwas had accused Kejriwal of hobnobbing with separatists.
आम आदमी पार्टी को हराने के लिए और भगवंत को CM बनने से रोकने के लिए सारे भ्रष्टाचारी इकट्ठे हो गए हैं। Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/Ta41oDrhHy
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 18, 2022
“I have been informed by an officer that an FIR will be lodged against me in the NIA (National Investigation Agency) within two days,” Kejriwal said, adding that he welcomed all such FIRs. “But if this is the way they will deal with security of the country, it is a matter of grave concern.”
Questioning the manner in which political leaders — from Rahul Gandhi to PM Modi — accused him of separatism in the state, Kejriwal said: “The sequence is interesting — Rahul Gandhi was first to make this allegation against me; PM Modi used the same language the next day, & Priyanka Gandhi and Sukhbir Singh Badal followed suit. No one had ever imagined that PM would copy Rahul Gandhi.”
The AAP leader claimed that these leaders had “joined hands” to target him in Punjab. Just like Bhagat Singh was labelled a terrorist by the British over a century ago, Kejriwal is facing the same allegations today, he said.
“Delhi Police, ED, Income Tax, and other agencies carried out raids at my office and residence in the last 7 years, but no agency could find anything against me. Then one day, a poet stood up and sang a poem. Thank that poet who caught such a big terrorist,” he went on to say.