New Delhi: The Congress Friday issued a barbed response to the CBI court’s clean chit to Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case, drawing a sharp rebuke from the AAP supremo and once again laying bare the fraught dynamics between the two parties – uneasy allies at times, bitter adversaries at others.
With the AAP focused on retaining power in Punjab and making further inroads in Gujarat, the acrimony between the two parties is set to deepen, with both states headed to the polls in 2027.
On Friday, the Congress fired the first shot hours after the CBI court discharged Kejriwal and 22 others, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in the case registered in August 2022. Party spokesperson Pawan Khera suggested that the relief to the AAP was part of a “script”.
“Elections are coming. So the script is predictable. Cases against Congress leaders will suddenly accelerate — P. Chidambaram has already been dragged back into the spotlight because Tamil Nadu is going for polls. Meanwhile, proceedings against their convenient ‘allies’ in the AAP and others will quietly vanish in light of the Gujarat and Punjab elections,” Khera wrote on X.
Several Congress leaders posted a clip showing Kejriwal in tears after the verdict, juxtaposed with a statement by Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi saying there are 32 cases against him, yet he remains as bold as ever.
“The decision has come from a lower court. The Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court have made serious observations in related cases in the past, so it remains to be seen how this decision holds up in higher courts. The legal process is not yet over,” Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee chief Devender Yadav said.
The Congress has in the past described the AAP as the BJP’s “B-team”.
Later in the day, Kejriwal, addressing a press conference at the AAP headquarters – overrun by jubilant party workers bursting firecrackers and distributing sweets – hit back at the Congress.
“Arvind Kejriwal went to jail. Did Robert Vadra go? Sanjay Singh was jailed, did Rahul Gandhi go? Manish Sisodia went to jail, did Sonia Gandhi go? Does the Congress have no shame?” he said, responding to a question on the party’s remarks.
While Kejriwal identified Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as the principal architects of the “conspiracy” that saw virtually the entire AAP leadership jailed, plunging the party into an extraordinary crisis, the AAP has consistently maintained that the Congress played a key role in amplifying the BJP’s narrative.
Last year, the AAP exited the INDIA bloc.
The Congress was an outlier in the Opposition bloc on Friday, as other INDIA allies such as the TMC, SP and the Left parties lauded the court’s verdict.
Reacting on X, Akhilesh Yadav said truth and justice stood firmly with Kejriwal and that no allegation could be so big as to shroud the truth.
“Today, every honest person will breathe a sigh of relief, while BJP supporters must be writhing in deep shame. The BJP has betrayed the residents of Delhi,” the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
“Satyameva Jayate! BJP, learn your lesson while there is still time. All your dirty tricks, your ED, your CBI — all these puppets will die in the face of truth. Congratulations @ArvindKejriwal,” TMC MP Mahua Moitra posted on X.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal said he would file an application next week seeking his discharge, and that of others, in the case filed by the ED in the matter. “The ED case has collapsed. It is a mere formality,” he said.
“I have earned only honesty in my life and they wanted to strike right there. But the court order has proven that Kejriwal is kattar imandaar (fiercely honest). People used to say I went silent and disappeared after walking out on bail. That’s because I am not a politician who is unaffected by such allegations. It affects Kejriwal. That is why I had decided not to speak till the charges against me were dismissed. Today I feel lighter,” he said.
(Edited by Niyati Kothiyal)
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