New Delhi, (Samajweekly) The Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday intensified its assault on the incarcerated Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding that he must step down from his position following his recent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The BJP’s offensive targeted Kejriwal on two fronts: the “Sharab” case concerning the excise policy and the “Sheeshmahal” case regarding the renovation of the Chief Minister’s residence.
The BJP launched the “Sharab se Sheeshmahal” campaign right from the heart of the national capital, Connaught Place.
Senior leaders of the Delhi BJP, led by state President Virendra Sachdeva, alongside the party’s Lok Sabha election candidates, MLAs, and councillors, mobilised in a protest aimed directly at Kejriwal.
The atmosphere reverberated with slogans denouncing Kejriwal’s alleged involvement in corruption and scams during his tenure leading the AAP-led Delhi government.
A substantial scaled-down replica of the Chief Minister’s official residence was installed outside the main entrance of Palika Market in Connaught Place. This model featured miniature alcohol bottles adorned with images of Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh.
Throughout the day, BJP workers handed out leaflets denouncing corruption to commuters exiting metro stations.
“Today, there is a government in Delhi which is embroiled in internal conflict. The alcohol scandal happened, the whole party knows it, but no one is accepting it; instead, they are sweeping their mistakes under the carpet and blaming each other now,” said the Delhi BJP Chief, adding that it would have been better if the Kejriwal party collectively atoned for corruption today instead of resorting to a group fast.
Shazia Ilmi said that the fasting done by the Aam Aadmi Party today is only to save corrupt people.
“Today, I feel ashamed that we stood by such people when their foundation was being laid. We rightly left them but today I’m shocked that Kejriwal is completely inundated with corruption. He spent Rs 52 crore on his palace in the name of the common man but did nothing for the people of Delhi. Whenever we think about the COVID-19 pandemic, it sends shivers down our spine. How could Kejriwal sleep peacefully in his palace at that time?” said Ilmi.
BJP Lok Sabha candidate from West Delhi, Kamaljeet Sehrawat said that the water didn’t reach every household in Delhi, but the alcohol shops were opened in every street.
“Everyone is astonished to see Arvind Kejriwal’s palace, and it’s beyond the understanding of the common people how someone who couldn’t provide medicines and beds during Covid became the owner of a crores worth sheeshmahal palace,” she said.