Jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita today entered the political battleground with a fiery speech that attacked the BJP-led central government over allegedly targeting the Opposition with central agencies ahead of the national election.
At a massive rally in Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan where leaders of the Opposition INDIA bloc including Rahul Gandhi, Uddhav Thackeray, Mehbooba Mufti, and Mallikarjun Kharge, among others, attended, Sunita Kejriwal read out a message sent by her jailed husband.
“The people of India stand with Arvind Kejriwal. He can’t be kept in jail forever,” Sunita Kejriwal said today in her first major political speech ever in front of hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supporters.
“I am not asking for votes from you. I am not asking you to help defeat someone in elections. I am only asking 140 crore Indians to help in taking this country forward,” Sunita Kejriwal said, quoting her husband’s message from jail.
She also gave support to the Opposition INDIA bloc, saying it is not INDIA only by name, but “India is in our hearts”
She then read out six guarantees that Arvind Kejriwal wrote in jail.
“First, there will be no power cuts across the country. Second, electricity for the poor across the nation will be free. Third, every village will have a good school where children from all sections of society will get quality education. Fourth, every village will have a mohalla clinic, and every zilla will have government multi-speciality hospital. Fifth, farmers will get good minimum support price per the Swaminathan report. And sixth, the people of Delhi have been treated unfairly for many years. We will end this injustice. The people of Delhi will get statehood,” Sunita Kejriwal said.
“We will fulfil all these guarantees in five years,” she added.
Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh are in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) custody over alleged money laundering in framing the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy.
At the rally today, the Opposition spoke strongly against what it called the BJP’s misuse of central agencies such as the ED, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the income tax department.
“What wrong has Kejriwal done? He has improved Delhi’s education, helped people. Had people not happy with him, he would not have been leading Delhi,” former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti said.
Kalpana Soren, the wife of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is currently in jail, also attended the rally.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray attacked the BJP over the electoral bonds issue, calling the ruling party “Bhrasht Janata Party”. “It has emerged that the BJP is the most corrupt party. It is the Bhrasht Janata Party. Their real face has been exposed before the people,” he said at the rally.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition event, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi said the event is actually about saving dynastic families in politics, news agency ANI reported. “It’s not ‘Loktantra Bachao’ rally but in reality, it is ‘Parivar bachao, bhrashtachar chhupao’ rally,” Mr Trivedi said.