"Looted country..." CM Arvind Kejriwal slams Congress, BJP in poll-bound Chhattisgarh
Nov 03, 2023
Janjgir-Champa, (Chhattisgarh) [India], November 3 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday hit out at the ruling Congress in poll-bound Chhattisgarh and principal opposition party BJP in the state, accusing them of "looting" the country during the last 75 years.
"Even after 75 years of Independence, poor people in the country are unable to get complete treatment (in hospitals) if they fall ill...In these 75 years, what did these two parties (BJP and Congress) do? They simply looted the country...," alleged CM Kejriwal at a poll rally in Chhattisgarh's Janjgir-Champa district.
He was also accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh.
The 90-member Chhattisgarh is scheduled to poll for the Assembly in two phases -- November 7 and 17.
Kejriwal on Thursday targeted the BJP-led central government saying, "While you can arrest Kejriwal; it's impossible to confine his ideology or the beliefs of the thousands who identify with his ideas."
This was after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. However, Kejriwal skipped the summon by the ED and held a roadshow in Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli.
On Thursday, the Delhi CM demanded that the (ED) withdraw its notice summoning him for questioning, claiming that it was "illegal and politically motivated".
The ED had summoned the Delhi chief minister for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy case.
"The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law," Kejriwal stated in his letter to the ED.
He further alleged that the said summons appears to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations.
"Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, BJP leaders started making statements that soon I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons. It is thus apparent that the said summons was leaked to select BJP leaders to malign my image and reputation and has been issued at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre," his letter read.
Arvind Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April this year, in connection with the case.
However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year.