The entire brass of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi went into a huddle on Sunday, with its leaders asking workers to step up their presence on social media platforms and remain united following the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in an excise policy case.
Mr. Kejriwal, AAP national convener, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in the case involving allegations that the now-scrapped 2021-22 excise policy benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers for monetary considerations.
The meeting was presided over by AAP’s national general secretary (organisation) Sandeep Pathak and attended by all party legislators, councillors and office-bearers to discuss the future course of action.
Mr. Pathak said party leaders decided unanimously that Mr. Kejriwal will not resign and continue to run the government from jail. He termed the CM’s arrest as part of “the BJP conspiracy to break AAP” and junked suggestions of defection in the party due to it.
Senior AAP leader Atishi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the attempt to “suppress AAP” through the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal. “The BJP can put Kejriwal in jail, but can’t imprison his ideas,” she said.
Go to people: Atishi
Ms. Atishi said every party member should go to people in order to put to rest fears of the discontinuation of the Delhi government’s welfare measures like free power and water.
“Every leader and every worker needs to go to the people of Delhi with a message thatno work will stop. The work will be done even faster than before,” she said.
Senior party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj told AAP functionaries to become active on social media platforms to raise awareness of the “atrocities” of the Centre. “The public wants to know how we are fighting against the BJP’s dictatorship,” he said.
