Atishi, a minister in Delhi and leader of the AAP, claimed on Tuesday that there were worries that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal might be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 2 following his interrogation in a case involving money laundering and the liquor policy.
Atishi asserted, in an interview, that the BJP was attempting to bring down the AAP by imprisoning its senior officials. She claimed that because it was unable to defeat Kejriwal in the elections, the BJP was employing these strategies against the AAP.
“There are reports that Kejriwal will be arrested on November 2. If he is arrested, it won’t be because of corruption (charges) but because he has spoken against the BJP,” she was quoted as saying by news agency.
“The AAP defeated the BJP in Delhi Assembly polls twice and also in MCD polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scared of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal. The BJP knows they cannot defeat the AAP in elections,” she said.
Kejriwal was summoned by the Enforcement Department (ED) on Monday to appear for interrogation on November 2 at 11 a.m. at their Delhi office over the money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy matter.
Kejriwal has never before been called in by the ED. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had already questioned him about the case in April.
After Kejriwal was detained, Atishi further claimed that the BJP would use the CBI and ED to attack other opposition leaders and chief ministers in India.
“Next they will target Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren since they have been unable to defeat him. Then they will target Tejashwi Yadav since they have not been able to break the alliance in Bihar. Then Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will be targeted,” she claimed.
Atishi reaffirmed that AAP leaders will fight to preserve the Constitution till the day they die and that they are not afraid to go to jail.
In line with Atishi’s opinions, her party colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the AAP has only become more powerful in the face of criticism.
“The BJP is trying to put Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders of the AAP behind bars. Whenever attempts have been made to suppress and finish off the Aam Aadmi Party, it has only emerged stronger,” he said.
In a separate press conference, AAP state convenor and minister Gopal Rai stated that the party will keep working for the people.
“There have been attacks in the past too and we have only grown stronger. They want to arrest Arvind Kejriwal since they want to finish off AAP. They tried to break AAP MLAs by lodging more than 170 cases against them but failed. The AAP is not working for itself but for the common man,” he asserted.
