Out of jail after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail in the excise policy case, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today launched a forceful attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, accusing him of working on a “dangerous mission” of putting in place a system of “one nation, one leader”. He also declared that he will in the next 20 days campaign for his party and the INDIA alliance all over the country.
Given a rousing welcome at the Aam Aadmi Party office a day after he was released from Tihar Jail following the order of the apex court which granted him interim bail till June one, Kejriwal delivered a speech which was high on emotive content meant to acknowledge the sentiment of the party workers and was also a scathing attack on Modi and the BJP. It provided a glimpse into what Kejriwal's campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in the next 20 days, first in Delhi, and then in Punjab and the rest of the country, was expected to be.
In the much anticipated speech, his first comprehensive take on the current situation since he came out of jail last evening, Kejriwal started off with his trademark slogans of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai', 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram'. He then told the party workers that he had come straight in their midst after walking out of jail where he was lodged for 50 days. He said it was a miracle and a blessing of Lord Hanuman, whose temple he visited before he arrived at the party office, that he was out of jail in the middle of election.
He declared that for the next 20 days he will campaign all across the country. “I want to thank the Supreme Court. They have given me 21 days. I will work for 36 hours a day. I will go around the country. I will give all I have to this country, each and every drop of my blood,” he said.
Taking on the Modi dispensation, Kejriwal said the message that was sought to be sent through his arrest was that if they can arrest Kejriwal, they can arrest anyone.
“The Prime Minister has started a very dangerous mission. The mission is called 'one nation, one leader'. He wants to finish all the leaders in the country. It is running at two levels – send opposition leaders to jail and finish the politics of BJP leaders. If they win this election, I am ready to write this on an affidavit, they will put Mamata didi, Tejashwi Yadav, M K Stalin, Pinarayi Vijayan, Uddhav Thackeray, all these leaders in jail,” Kejriwal said.
He also said that Modi has worked to finish several BJP leaders politically and his next target is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. “He wants to be the only leader, the only dictator. He wants to finish democracy in the country. I am struggling with all my might against this dictator. I need the support of the 140 crore people of this country to save this country,” he said.
He further said that since Modi has himself set a deadline of 75 years for leaders in the party to attain retirement, since he is turning 75 years old next September, if the BJP comes back to power, he will install Amit Shah as prime minister.
“They ask INDIA alliance, who is your prime minister. I want to ask the BJP, who will be your prime minister?....He (Modi) is not seeking votes for himself, he is actually seeking votes to make Amit Shah the prime minister. Who will fulfil Modi's guarantee? Will it be Amit Shah?” he said.
Kejriwal also spoke about the reason why he did not resign as chief minister after he was arrested, saying that would have amounted to playing into the hands of the BJP. “When I was in jail, some people asked why Kejriwal is not resigning from the CM's post. I have never hankered after any post. I left my job as Income Tax commissioner to work in the jhuggis of Sunder Nagari and Nand Nagari...My arrest was a conspiracy. Their plan was to send Kejriwal to jail on false charges, he will resign and the government will fall. So I responded by declaring I will not resign. If you will hold democracy captive in jail, we will run democracy from jail, we will run government from jail,” he said.
He said Modi has not left any stone unturned to finish the AAP. “They thought they will send four top leaders of the party to jail, and it will be finished. But the AAP is not a party, it is an idea. The more you try to crush it, the more it will grow,” he said.
Kejriwal claimed the feedback that he has got from experts and pollsters who he has spoken to since his release from jail is that Modi is not coming back to power and the INDIA alliance will form the next government. “The Satta Bazaar too is not giving them more then 220-230 seats,” he said.
