NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged that allegations of corruption in the excise policy were just an excuse to impede the development of Delhi.Accusing BJP of a “malicious witch-hunt”, he claimed that both Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain would be out of jail tomorrow if they joined the saffron party.Addressing his first press conference since the arrest of Sisodia in a case of alleged corruption in formulation and implementation of the excise policy last year, Kejriwal said it was not a coincidence that the “country’s best performing education and health ministers” were in jail.”BJP has a fundamental problem with governments that do good work for the society. It is no coincidence that our government was performing the best in the education and healthcare sectors and, overnight, our health and education ministers were sent to jail,” Kejriwal said.”Corruption is not the issue. The motive was to stop the good work done by the ministers. AAP will go door to door and explain to people how PM Narendra Modi has brought back Indira Gandhi’s Emergency era with his vendetta politics,” he added.No immediate reaction was available from BJP.Expressing his anger over the situation, Kejriwal said BJP had been restless ever since AAP won the assembly elections in Punjab last year and was trying to settle political scores. He claimed that both Sisodia and Jain had been arrested in “completely fabricated” cases born out of “BJP’s vendetta politics” to stop the “Aam Aadmi revolution”.”The whole country takes pride in the work delivered by both these leaders. They both made the country proud on the highest global arenas. But, in return, the Prime Minister sent them to jail,” he alleged.Calling it “washing-machine politics”, Kejriwal said all cases against Sisodia and sJain would be dropped if both agreed to join BJP. “If both of them join BJP today, you will see them walking free tomorrow itself. All the files, all cases will be closed,” Kejriwal said. “BJP has always wanted to impede development by sending ED-CBI behind the opposition,” he added.While praising the “Delhi model”, Kejriwal claimed BJP had its governments in Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat for years, but failed to fix “a single school or hospital”. “They know that people are seeing their failure. To divert attention, they are impeding the progress of AAP government,” he alleged.The CM further said that he had been in constant touch with the people of Delhi to understand how they were reacting to the situation and found that they were livid with the developments. “The public is furious… they are outraged… they are agitated, seeing the political persecution of AAP leaders. The people are willing to enter a fight with BJP over its vendetta politics,” he said.Formally announcing Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as new ministers who would be inducted into the Delhi Cabinet, Kejriwal said both were “fantastic professionals” and highly educated individuals, who would easily step into the shoes of the jailed ministers. “Whatever good work Sisodia Ji and Jain Sahab were doing will only get impetus with the arrival of these two new ministers,” Kejriwal said.Kejriwal said he had called a meeting of all MLAs and municipal councillors of Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday evening and the party would launch a massive agitation against the Centre with jansamvad, nukkad sabha and door-to-door campaigns in Delhi and across the country.”All of us will go to every household and every doorstep to explain how PM Modi has brought back Indira Gandhi’s Emergency era today,” Kejriwal said.”It is a fact that when oppression takes a toll, nature takes its course. History has it, whenever a ruler has wielded oppression, the public has swept them out of power. It is upon the public to wield the broom now, and sweep this mess clean,” he added.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/scam-an-excuse-to-impede-growth-delhi-cm-arvind-kejriwal/articleshow/98347483.cms