AAP MP Writes To PM, Claims Jailed Arvind Kejriwal Put Under Surveillance

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday wrote letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, alleging Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal lodged in the Tihar Jail was put under round-the-clock CCTV camera surveillance.

The senior AAP leader also charged that Tihar Jail has been turned into a "torture house" for Kejriwal.

Mr Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case, has been lodged under judicial custody in Tihar Jail since the beginning of this month.

Mr Singh said that the treatment meted out to Kejriwal was against "democratic dignity" and needed to be stopped immediately.

The three-page letter penned by Mr Singh in Hindi also attacked the two while raising the issue of alleged 24-hour CCTV surveillance and "harassment" of Mr Kejriwal citing that the chief minister was provided insulin for high blood sugar after 23 days in jail.

"His activity is being watched as if he was being spied on by some big-time spy," Mr Singh alleged.

Citing former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the AAP MP wrote, "It is very important to have opposition in a democracy. Governments will come and go, political parties will be formed and disintegrated but the country should survive and democracy should always remain." 

Mr Singh questioned whether it was Mr Kejriwal's "crime" that he gave good education to the poor children of Delhi, provided good treatment to people, made electricity and water free, and planned a scheme for providing Rs 1,000 per month to women.

He said the people of Delhi are "very sad" due to Mr Kejriwal's arrest.

"Kejriwal ji's old parents are also extremely saddened by your atrocities. His wife Sunita Kejriwal is taking his message to the entire country in this hour of grief. Her heart is also deeply saddened by your unjust conduct," he said.

The BJP has hit back at the AAP, alleging that it was using Kejriwal's imprisonment to create sympathy in the Lok Sabha polls.

"The Aam Aadmi Party is trying to save its political existence by portraying Arvind Kejriwal's arrest for corruption as political martyrdom, but now not only Delhi but also the people on all the 22 seats in the country where they are contesting the Lok Sabha elections have decided to reject it," charged Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.

He claimed that AAP's support has completely waned in Delhi after Mr Kejriwal's arrest in a "liquor scam". 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)