K Annamalai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s Tamil Nadu unit chief and Lok Sabha candidate from Coimbatore, on Sunday launched a scathing attack on jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Taking an aim at Kejriwal, Annamalai said Delhi is being governed by a person who should serve the people but is continuously embroiled in scams.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Delhi liqour policy case. At present, the Delhi CM is lodged inside the Tihar jail till May 7.
Annamalai was speaking at the Delhi Tamil Confluence organised by the Tamil Nadu Prakosth of the BJP's Delhi unit at Talkatora Stadium. He also took an aim at the grand old Congress party for entering an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi. Kejriwal is running the Delhi government from inside the Tihar jail premises.
"But within Delhi, there is a government of a person who should serve the common people but is continuosly involved in scams. There was talk of never joining hands with such a person but, today, they are talking about forming a government with him," Annamalai was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
He further said that besides indulging in "corruption" in every department, the AAP government in Delhi has polluted the Yamuna river even further. He also said that given these circumstances, BJP's win across all 7 seats in Delhi must be ensured.
"Therefore, on May 25, victory on all 7 (Lok Sabha) seats of Delhi must be ensured. After the victory, we will call big leaders from Tamil Nadu and the country and organise a big event," he said. Annamalai's comments come almost a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a not-so-veiled attack at the jailed Delhi CM.
Prime Minister Modi said in an interview with The Times of India he was sure that other politicians would not be lacking in morals. "I am optimistic that this (Kejriwal continuing as CM from jail) will not become a precedent. I feel other politicians won't be so lacking in morals and will not go to this extent," Modi said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has said that it may consider interim bail for Arvind Kejriwal on account of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
A two-judge bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said "it may or may not grant interim bail" to the AAP chief but is ready to consider it. "We may grant or we may not grant. But we must be open to you as neither side should be taken by surprise," the bench mentioned.
The top court urged the ED to suggest potential conditions for Kejriwal to follow in case he is granted interim bail. It also sought the central agency's advice on whether Kejriwal should handle official paperwork given his position as Chief Minister of Delhi.
(With PTI inputs)