"They didn't want me to campaign for elections:" Arvind Kejriwal hits out at BJP
May 14, 2024
Kurukshetra (Haryana) [India], May 14 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accusing them of hindering his election campaign by incarcerating him.
During a roadshow in Kurukshetra, Haryana, ahead of the general elections there, CM Arvind Kejriwal said, "I am coming straight from jail to meet you all. I was in jail for 50 days and lost 5 kg of weight. The elections were declared on March 16th, and on March 21st, they arrested me. Their (BJP's) intentions were bad, meaning they didn't want me to campaign for the elections. I want to thank the Supreme Court for giving me the opportunity to campaign, and today I am here among you."
Kejriwal appealed the electorate to consider the consequences of their vote, stating, "I have come for 20 days, saying that I have to go to jail again (on 2nd June). Whether I go to jail again or not is in your hands. If you press the lotus button on May 25th, I will have to go to jail, and if you press the broom button, I won't have to go to jail."
"When you go to vote, think carefully," he added.
Kejriwal highlighted his administration's achievements in Delhi, including improvements in education, healthcare, and electricity supply, while condemning the conditions he endured during his imprisonment.
"I was thinking, why did they arrest me? I am just a common man with a small party. My fault is that I built good schools for the poor people of Delhi, provided good education for their children, ensured 24-hour electricity supply, etc. Today, if anyone in Delhi falls ill, they get all the medicines for free. But when I went to Tihar, I, a diabetic, had my insulin stopped for 15 days. My sugar level reached 350. My fault is that now I am preparing to deposit Rs. 100 every month into the account of every woman in Delhi," Kejriwal said.
He was speaking while doing a road show in the Shahabad area of Kurukshetra district in Haryana to support of AAP candidate for Haryana's Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat Sushil Gupta.
Sushil Kumar Gupta of AAP is pitied against Naveen Jindal of BJP from the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituency.
Notably, Jindal represented the Kurukshetra parliamentary constituency from 2004 to 2014 when he was in Congress.
Kejriwal was released from Delhi's Tihar Jail on May 10, 50 days after he was jailed on corruption charges linked to the alleged liquor policy scam and hours after the Supreme Court granted bail until June 1.
Lok Sabha elections in the 10 parliamentary constituencies of Haryana will be held in a single phase on May 25. The counting of votes will be on June 4.
In the 2019 Indian general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the dominant force in Haryana, securing a landslide victory by winning all 10 parliamentary seats.