NEW DELHI: Escalating the attack on AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal by his party, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday taunted him for going from a “small car” to a “sheesh mahal”, alleging that he had vanished during the riots in 2020, letting down poor people when they needed him the most.
Addressing a rally at Patparganj, a constituency that Manish Sisodia has moved away from, he called the former deputy CM the “architect of the liquor scam“, saying he had run away after allegations of corruption.
Within hours, Kejriwal hit back on X, asking why the Leader of the Opposition was quiet on “raj mahal” and was repeating the speeches of BJP functionaries. “Tell the public what’s the deal between BJP and Congress,” he said.
In another post on X, Kejriwal said PM Modi puts people in jail by cooking up fake cases like the liquor scam. “Why have you and your family not been arrested in an open-and-shut case like National Herald? How has Robert Vadra got a clean chit from BJP?”
Rahul Gandhi repeated entire speech of BJP: Arvind Kejriwal
Accusing BJP and Congress of shadow boxing, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday said that it was surprising how Rahul Gandhi and his family weren’t arrested in an open-and-shut case like the National Herald scam.
“Modiji puts people in jail even by making fake cases like the liquor scam. Why haven’t you and your family been arrested in open-and-shut cases like National Herald?” he asked on X.
“How did Robert Vadra get a clean chit from BJP? It is better if you don’t preach fear and bravery. The country knows who is a coward and who is brave,” he said. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is investigating Rahul Gandhi in connection in the Congress-run National Herald newspaper. It is probing the irregularities in running the newspaper.
The statement came soon after Congress MP Rahul Gandhi in a rally attacked Kejriwal over the renovation of the CM’s residence on Flag Staff Road and the alleged liquor scam.
In another post, Kejriwal questioned Gandhi over his “silence” on the PM’s residence when he spoke on the Delhi CM’s residence. “People are asking why Rahul Gandhi is silent on Raj Mahal. Today Rahulji repeated the entire speech of BJP in Delhi. Tell the public what agreement has been reached between the BJP and Congress,” Kejriwal said.
AAP uses the term “Raj Mahal” for the PM’s residence and has alleged huge spending on it. It has challenged the BJP to open it up for a visit.
AAP and Congress fought Lok Sabha polls in Delhi together but lost all seven seats. The alliance partners, however, had prickly relations from the time they decided to fight Delhi assembly polls separately.
Last month, AAP functionaries said the party would ask parties in the INDIA bloc to remove Congress from it if the party does not act against its Delhi functionary, Ajay Maken, whom AAP has accused of helping BJP. Maken has accused AAP of having “anti-national” tendencies.
