"Wish You Could Come But...": Arvind Kejriwal, PM Modi's Twitter Exchange

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was invited to Arvind Kejriwal's oath-taking ceremony but couldn't attend, on Sunday congratulated the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief on Twitter for becoming the Chief Minister of Delhi. Mr Kejriwal, in a swift response, said he wished the PM had attended the event.

"Thank you for the warm wishes sir. I wish you could come today, but I understand you were busy. We must now work together towards making Delhi a city of pride for all Indians," Mr Kejriwal tweeted.

Thank you for the warm wishes sir. I wish you could come today, but I understand you were busy. We must now work together towards making Delhi a city of pride for all Indians https://t.co/hHFvH8cLCJ

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 16, 2020

Arvind Kejriwal and his six ministers took oath on Sunday at a mega ceremony at Ramlila Maidan, outside Delhi's iconic Red Fort, that was attended by a huge crowd.

Mr Kejriwal had invited PM Modi, the BJP's seven Delhi MPs and the eight newly elected BJP MLAs to his swearing-in ceremony but none attended. The Prime Minister was in his parliamentary constituency Varanasi today to inaugurate various projects.

Before the national election last year, Mr Kejriwal had targeted PM Modi over a host of issues, including for allegedly stalling Delhi government's schemes. But after the poll results, which were not in AAP's favour, he largely refrained from making any direct attack.

Even in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly election, Mr Kejriwal didn't launch any hard-hitting potshots at PM Modi, even when he was repeatedly accused by the BJP of being sympathetic to the so-called "anti-nationals".

Last month, when a Pakistan minister had attacked PM Modi on Twitter, Mr Kejriwal had responded: " Narendra Modi is India's Prime Minister. He is my Prime Minister as well. Delhi Election is India's internal matter, and we won't tolerate interference of the supporters of terrorism".

This is the second Twitter exchange between the Prime Minister and Arvind Kejriwal this month. After the AAP won 62 of the 70 Delhi seats on February 8, PM Modi had put out a congratulatory note. Mr Kejriwal had replied by saying he was looking forward to work with the centre for the development of the national capital.