Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in a money laundering case
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said in a message from jail that "he is not a terrorist", the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said today, targeting the round-the-clock surveillance on its leader's daily activities and his meetings, even with his family members.
"Arvind Kejriwal has sent a message for the people of Delhi and the people of the country, for whom he worked like a son, a brother. His message is, 'my name is Arvind Kejriwal, and I am not a terrorist'. You are not ashamed to behave like this? The Prime Minister is filled with so much hate that Mr Kejriwa's meeting with his wife and other family members is taking place across a glass partition," AAP MP Sanjay Singh told the media today.
Mr Singh was arrested in the money laundering case linked to Delhi's now-scrapped liquor policy and is now out on bail. Mr Kejriwal, who is behind the bars in connection with the same case, has now challenged his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in Supreme Court.
Addressing the media, Mr Singh said Punjab Chief Minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Mann's meeting with Mr Kejriwal was also held with a glass wall separating them. "The BJP and the Prime Minister have proved that their hearts are filled with hate. You are behaving with a Chief Minister in this manner? Round-the-clock CCTV surveillance, plans to harass, you are working round the clock to figure out how to lower Arvind Kejriwal's morale, how to insult his family members and his party's leaders," he said.
Mr Kejriwal, he said, was made of a different clay. "He kicked an IRS job and pledged to serve the country. He resigned after 49 days in power over principles. This is Arvind Kejriwal. If you try to break him, he will only get stronger," he said.
Earlier, Mr Mann told the media after meeting Mr Kejriwal yesterday, "It is very sad to see that Arvind Kejriwal is not even getting the facilities that a hardcore criminal gets. What is his crime? That he built schools, hospitals, mohalla clinics and gave free electricity to the public? You are treating him as if you have arrested a big terrorist of the country."
Responding to AAP's allegations, BJP MP from Delhi Manoj Tiwari said they are not calling Mr Kejriwal a terrorist. "Who is calling him a terrorist? We don't know why Mr Kejriwal and his associates are calling him a terrorist. We are calling him corrupt. He is Delhi's enemy. He has made the elderly weep for pension, he has made the poor weep for ration cards and he has made people weep for clean water and air," he told news agency PTI.
Mr Tiwari said the AAP leader must have thought about the facilities in jail "before committing loot". "The jail manual is the same for everybody. The law is taking its course."