In his message, Mr Kejriwal said that no one in Delhi should suffer because he is in jail.
New Delhi:
When Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita delivered another message from the jailed chief minister to the people of Delhi on Thursday, the background in her video statement stood out. In all her speeches so far, the background had portraits of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and the father of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar, but there was a new addition between them in the latest video: a photo of Arvind Kejriwal with bars in front of him to signify his captivity.
“Mr Kejriwal has sent a message to all of you from jail: ‘I am in jail, but no one in Delhi should have to suffer because of this. Every MLA should visit their constituencies every day and ask people if they are facing any problems. They need to solve these problems. I am not just talking about solving problems related to government, we should also try to solve their other problems. The two million people of Delhi are my family. No one should be unhappy. God bless them all Jai Hind,” Ms Kejriwal said in Hindi.
I have CM @ArvindKejriwal I think I did a good job Smt. @KejriwalSunita Addressing an important press conference l LIVE https://t.co/kCINkxUTza
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 4, 2024
The AAP chief’s photo in the message was also noticed by the BJP, which accused Mr Kejriwal of trying to mislead the people of Delhi.
“It is very unfortunate that the portrait of a corrupt person, Arvind Kejriwal, hung between that of Bhagat Singh ji and Babasaheb Ambedkar ji. Previously the man was lying in front of the camera. Now that he’s in jail, his wife lets him lie. The public will not be misled by the AAP,” BJP Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva wrote in Hindi on X.
After Mr Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case on March 21, his wife delivered messages from him to the people of Delhi and also during the ‘Save Democracy’ rally on Sunday, which show of strength was by the opposition INDIA bloc.
In his first message, two days after his arrest, Mr Kejriwal had said: “There are several forces inside and outside India that are weakening the country. There is no prison that can keep him behind bars for long. my promises.”
During Sunday’s meeting, the Prime Minister’s wife had read out his six assurances to the people of Delhi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and said the people of India stood with her jailed husband.
The AAP chief has been remanded in police custody till April 15 and the Delhi High Court is hearing a petition filed by him against his arrest. The court had reserved a ruling in the case on Wednesday.
In a separate hearing seeking Kejriwal’s resignation as chief minister after his arrest, a Supreme Court bench on Thursday dismissed the petition and said democracy should take its own course.