New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal did not hit the streets after the arrests of senior AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain as he has done in the case of Bibhav Kumar, BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, questioning the Delhi CM’s silence over the alleged assault of Swati Maliwal by his personal secretary.
Kumar was arrested 18 May from the Delhi CM’s residence after Maliwal accused him of assaulting her 13 May when she had gone to visit Kejriwal. The next day, Kejriwal and his party workers and supporters attempted to march to the BJP headquarters to protest the arrests of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders but were stopped by police. Kumar has held that Maliwal tried to force her way into the CM’s house.
In an interview with ThePrint, Chouhan said, “His colleagues, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain, were also arrested, but Kejriwal came out on the road to protest for his personal secretary, leaving his Rajya Sabha MP (Swati Maliwal to fight the ‘assault’ case alone). Is he (Bibhav Kumar) personal secretary or something else? Kejriwal should clarify.”
The ED arrested Satyendar Jain earlier in 2022 on charges of money laundering. It then arrested Sisodia last year in the Delhi excise case, and later did the same with Kejriwal this March. While Jain and Sisodia remain in jail, Kejriwal was granted bail till 1 June to campaign for the election. Bibhav Kumar will remain in judicial custody till 28 May when he will be produced in court.
Asked why the BJP was attacking Kejriwal when it has been silent in cases of atrocities against women in Manipur, the four-time former Madhya Pradesh CM claimed Maliwal’s assault is different as it happened in the presence of the Delhi CM.
“At the chief minister’s bungalow, a Rajya Sabha MP was assaulted and Kejriwal expected people not to talk about that. I am surprised that Kejriwal made Maliwal the women’s commission chairman, but his silence gives the impression of implicit consent to the assault,” he said.
“How can Kejriwal tolerate such an incident? (AAP Rajya Sabha MP) Sanjay Singh said that the CM is sad and will take action against his personal secretary. But, where is the action?”
A day after the alleged assault, Sanjay Singh had called the incident “condemnable” and promised action from the CM’s end. However, it took Kejriwal more than a week to break his silence Wednesday, saying there were two versions of what happened, and he wanted justice to be served after a fair investigation.
Swati Maliwal has responded to the CM’s statement, saying she has no faith in his words as she received all kinds of threats from AAP volunteers. On Saturday, AAP leader Atishi said Maliwal is facing charges in an illegal recruitment case, and that the BJP blackmailed her to work against Kejriwal.
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‘BJP has achieved majority in first five phases of election’
During the interview, Chouhan, who is contesting the Lok Sabha polls from Madhya Pradesh’s Vidisha, also said that the BJP is riding a one-sided wave in this election, and that voters do not only have trust and faith but also devotion towards PM Modi.
“The people’s call was for PM Modi for a third term, and this was the driving factor behind the BJP’s ‘Abki bar, 400 paar‘ slogan. The people’s sentiments are turning that call into a reality in the results.”
Chouhan said the BJP has already achieved the target of winning 310 seats in the first five phases of the election. Home Minister Amit Shah also claimed that the party is getting 310-plus seats after internal assessments, he said.
“We have achieved the majority by getting 310 seats in the first five phases of the election. In the remaining two phases, we will achieve the target of getting 370 seats, and collectively, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) will get 400 seats overall.“
Asked about unemployment emerging as an issue this election and is likely to hamper the BJP’s target of getting the majority, Chouhan defended the Modi government’s performance in creating jobs.
“People know the track record and work done by the PM. The Modi government has brought 25 crore people out of poverty. The Congress used to chant that it would end poverty, but the Modi government fulfilled the promises in the Congress slogans,” he said.
“A huge segment of society are beneficiaries of government schemes now; their life has changed. Modiji is the first PM to organise job fairs and to distribute employment letters. From Startup India to the PM street vendor scheme, Mudra loan scheme, and Lakhpati Didi scheme, job creation has happened under government schemes.”
Asked about the decline in voting percentage among women in Madhya Pradesh, Chouhan said it must be because of the summer heat. The state government launched several schemes for women during his tenure, claimed Chouhan, adding that it was the internal call of his soul.
“From childhood, my thought was why there should be a difference between men and women, or son and daughter. Without women, this universe can’t exist. Women can’t be second-class citizens. It (schemes for women) was my way of granting justice to half of the population,” he further said.
“On the national front, PM Modi has empowered women, and in Madhya Pradesh, my relationship with women is of trust, love, and affection, and it’s not going to change. Due to the heat, some percentage of the voting may be affected, but the overall voting percentage has been satisfactory and women and our sisters have voted for us in large numbers.”
Questioned about his journey as chief minister four times to a probable MP, Chouhan said, “For me, BJP is a mission for national redevelopment. As a BJP worker, I have fulfilled whatever work was assigned to me. Now, the party has asked me to fight the Lok Sabha election and become MP, and I will fulfill that, too.”
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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