Even as Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in Punjab gathered at Khatkar Kalan in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, to observe a day-long fast to protest the arrest of party supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) termed it as a “political farce”.
On the call for a nationwide collective fast to protest against Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Cabinet Ministers and MLAs, among others, observed the fast at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of noted freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
Also read: People on the streets divided over Kejriwal’s arrest
Hitting out at the BJP-led Central government, Mr. Mann said that wherever there was a non-BJP government in any State, the BJP resorted to harassment. “I also have to go to the Supreme Court on every issue. The Governor is harassing us and the Centre has stopped our funds. Arvind Kejriwal was put in jail at the time of elections because the AAP was a threat to the BJP,” he said.
“They are saying that they will cross 400 seats but nothing like that is going to happen. People have already made up their mind that they will vote against this dictatorship,” he added.
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar hit out at Mr. Mann, accusing him of insulting Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s birthplace (Khatkar Kalan) and legacy to propagate the corruption of their tainted leader – Mr. Kejriwal.
“The farce perpetrated by Mr. Mann at Khatkar Kalan today was the most despicable and I condemn it in the strongest words,” he said in a statement, adding that Punjabis will never tolerate this transgression.
“Punjabis will never forgive this assault on shared honour and pride in the sacrifices of our greatest of freedom fighters. The Chief Minister should not play with sentiments of Punjabis for his political motives,” he added.
Mr. Jakhar said the AAP leadership had already been exposed for its involvement in liquor scams both in Delhi and Punjab and the people of the country had seen through their veil of hollow promises and fake ideology. “These cheap tactics of diverting public attention won’t save those who have swindled public money by giving liquor contracts to their chosen ones through collusion and corruption,” he said.
