BJP leader Parvesh Verma claimed that "only the people of Delhi" can place a ban on him.
Despite being penalised by the Election Commission ahead of the Delhi polls, BJP leader Parvesh Verma on Tuesday justified calling Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a "terrorist" over the latter's alleged support to Shaheen Bagh protesters.
"If the Delhi chief minister calls the Prime Minister a desh drohi, he can be called a terrorist. If the Delhi chief minister stands with the protesters of Shaheen Bagh who are raising slogans of Pakistan zindabad, he can be called a terrorist. If the Delhi chief minister raises doubts over a surgical strike conducted by the country's army on enemy territory, he can be called a terrorist," he told NDTV.
The BJP politician claimed that "only the people of Delhi" can place a ban on him. "The people of Delhi will decide whether the ban imposed on me was justified or not. The people of Delhi will decide that on February 8," he said.
On January 30, the Election Commission had banned Parvesh Verma and Union Minister Anurag Thakur from campaigning for the Delhi polls for 96 and 72 hours respectively on charges of making hate speeches. Parvesh Verma had told supporters at a public rally the same week that those protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act at Shaheen Bagh would break into their houses "to rape and murder" their sisters and daughters. On a previous instance, he repeatedly referred to Arvind Kejriwal as a "terrorist".
However, Parvesh Verma claimed that he often speaks on matters related to the city's development too. "If I give a speech of half an hour, 25 minutes of that hinge on Delhi's development," he said, adding that these portions are hardly ever covered by the media.
The BJP will face the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party and the Congress in the Delhi polls, scheduled to be held on Saturday. The election results will be declared on February 11.