Kejriwal says countdown for BJP exit has begun at Jantar Mantar rally

AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal claimed that the countdown to the BJP’s removal from power has begun while addressing a rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. He attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah over the excise policy case

New Delhi: Forty-eight hours after being discharged by a Delhi court in the liquor policy case, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday, claiming that the countdown to the BJP’s removal from power has begun.

Addressing the party’s rally at Jantar Mantar here, Kejriwal accused the prime minister and Shah of conspiring to frame him in the excise policy case and said that the court, in a recent “historic” judgement, proved that he was “Kattar Imandar” (hardcore honest person).

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A trial court on Friday granted relief to Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 21 others in the case and criticised the Central Bureau of Investigation, saying the charge sheet “suffers from internal contradictions, striking at the root of the conspiracy theory.”

Addressing the gathering of party leaders and workers from several states, Kejriwal alleged that the prime minister feared everyone and asserted that when a “tyrant” is scared, it signals the end of his reign.

“He sent Sonam Wangchuk to jail, who is a big scientist and worked for the education of children. Modi ji did not go to Parliament one day, fearing women MPs would assault him. He is scared of Donald Trump, too,” Kejriwal stated.

The former Delhi chief minister also alleged that in 12 years of BJP rule in the country, all sectors were ruined and the condition of roads, healthcare, education and sanitation, among others, was in bad shape.

Taking a dig at the “Viksit Bharat” vision of the prime minister, Kejriwal said people want a “Rahne Layak Bharat” (liveable India) and also took a swipe at the ‘Pariksha Pe Charcha’ programme addressed by Modi, saying he should stop the “drama” and focus on preventing paper leaks in exams.

Kejriwal also slammed the BJP government in Delhi, saying the party ruined the city in its one-year rule, alleging that roads are broken, the water supply is contaminated, and people are facing difficulty in breathing due to air pollution.

He said the prime minister had nothing to do with the country and was after power only through “conspiracies” and manipulation in voter lists.

“Modi ji, you can continue to work for power, and I will continue to work for the country,” Kejriwal said.

“I passed from IIT with good numbers and could have gone to America. But I thought if everyone went abroad, who would take care of the country? When I served as an income tax commissioner, people used to swear on my honesty,” he said.

The AAP supremo said that on April 4, 2011, people gathered at Jantar Mantar had roared and the Congress was swept from power.

He said that the AAP rally marked a historic day and that the countdown to the BJP’s removal from power has begun.

Several senior party leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Manish Sisodia, Atishi, Sanjay Singh, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, also addressed the gathering at Jantar Mantar.