Aam Aadmi Party launched a social media campaign on Monday in support of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and directed all its leaders and workers to change their display picture across social media platforms to reflect the theme.
Mr. Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy.
AAP senior leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi said that those who supported Mr. Kejriwal and wanted to convey the message that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was eliminating democracy should join the campaign. By changing the display picture, people could show that the fight was not just Mr. Kejriwal’s but that of the entire nation, a battle to save democracy and the constitution, she added.
The slogan of the campaign was ‘Modi ka sabse bada darr _ Kejriwal’ (Modi’s biggest fear _ Kejriwal)’. Ms. Atishi said that the social media campaign would spread Mr. Kejriwal’s ideology and inspiration to every household.
Leaders of the AAP and other members of the INDIA bloc have been protesting Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest, calling it unconstitutional and illegal, especially ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The alliance had visited the Electoral Commission (EC) office to register their protest and seek its intervention.
The ED had custody of Mr. Kejriwal till March 28. AAP leaders, including former Deputy Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, were in judicial custody in relation to the same case.
“The CM has been falsely arrested by Mr. Modi, his Bharatiya Janata Party, and their political weapon, the ED, in a fabricated case. It’s a case where even after two years of investigation, not a single penny of proceeds of crime has been recovered from any AAP leader,” Ms. Atishi said.
She also pointed out that after two years of investigation, Mr. Kejriwal was arrested immediately after the announcement of the poll schedule.
“PM Modi wants to ensure that Mr. Kejriwal cannot challenge him. That’s why he [Kejriwal] has been put in jail in false cases filed by the ED,” she charged.
“Mr. Kejriwal is an idea, and while you can put one Arvind Kejriwal in jail, thousands more inspired by him will emerge from across the country,” she added.
The party has been protesting his arrest since March 22. They planned to hold a candle march for the same on March 31.
