Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on April 16 delivered a message from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal who is currently lodged in Tihar Jail and quoted him to say “My name is Arvind Kejriwal, and I am not a terrorist.” He said that Mr. Kejriwal had sent this message to the people of the country, to the people of Delhi and to the people for whom he worked like a son and brother.
Mr. Singh, addressing a press conference, said that the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are treating Mr. Kejriwal like a terrorist by making him speak to his family and Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann through a glass wall to take revenge and break his spirit.
By keeping him under 24-hour CCTV surveillance, Mr. Modi is trying to demoralize him, and humiliate him and his family, and party leaders, Mr. Singh claimed. “I want to tell you Prime Minister, this is Arvind Kejriwal, he is a person made of sterner stuff. He pledged to serve the country by quitting his IRS job. When the issue of principle came up, he also resigned from the 49-day government. This is Arvind Kejriwal, if you make any attempt to break him, Mr. Kejriwal ji will become stronger and fight against you,” he said.
The senior AAP leader said that Mr. Mann after meeting Mr. Kejriwal in jail yesterday had tears in his eyes while sharing they way in which Mr. Kejriwal was being treated and that the AAP staunchly condemns it. “This act is an act of Hitlerism, an act of dictatorship and the intention is to break Mr. Kejriwal but he will not succumb or bow down. Kejriwal has fought, Kejriwal will fight and will keep working for the people of Delhi,” Mr. Singh said.
A political slug fest had erupted last week when the AAP said that Mr. Kejriwal was not being allowed to have in-person meetings and could only meet people from either side of a glass wall. Mr. Singh has said that prisoners in Tihar are allowed to have in person meetings but Mr. Kejriwal was nor being allowed to do so.
According to the prison manual, Rule 602: “Every interview shall take place in a special part of the prison appointed for this purpose... The interview room will have fibreglass partition with intercom facilities or equipped with any other latest technology, so that the prisoners can have a peaceful interview.” It adds that the Superintendent of Prisons may allow well-behaved prisoners to have face-to-face interviews after giving due consideration to security and other related aspects.
Earlier, the AAP had claimed that Mr. Kejriwal was a diabetic and facing health issues in jail as his sugar levels were fluctuating. The court has allowed Mr. Kejirwal to eat home cooked meals. Yesterday, the AAP announced that Mr. Kejriwal will be meeting two ministers from the AAP government every week to take stock of the Delhi government. Mr. Kejrwial who is in judicial custody after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering in connection with the now scrapped Delhi liquor policy.
