Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, on Friday launched ‘Kejriwal ko Aashirwad’, a campaign under which citizens can send WhatsApp messages through a dedicated phone number to her husband, who is in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody.
Ms. Kejriwal sought people’s support for the AAP national convener, who, she said, is fighting “the most corrupt and dictatorial forces” in the country.
In response, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri compared Ms. Kejriwal with former Bihar Chief Minister Rabri Devi, saying, “The madam you are naming is perhaps preparing to hold the Chief Minister’s post like Rabri Devi did in Bihar.”
He added that Mr. Kejriwal’s “time is going to be up soon” as his government “has not done any work for the people of Delhi”. The senior BJP leader made the remarks at the inauguration of an office of the party’s Delhi unit.
On Thursday, a Delhi court had extended the Delhi Chief Minister’s ED custody till April 1. The Central probe agency had arrested Mr. Kejriwal on March 21 in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy for 2021-22.
‘True patriot’
In a digital message, her third since her husband’s arrest, Ms. Kejriwal sought to rally support for him. “Arvind will be very happy to read your messages. I will pass on each of your messages to him. I have been with him for the last 30 years; patriotism is in his every pore.”
Ms. Kejriwal urged people to listen closely to the Delhi Chief Minister’s arguments in court a day earlier. “Arvind presented his side in the court yesterday, and the entire country heard it. It requires a lot of courage,” she said.
“I have full confidence that we will all fight this battle together,” she said, thanking the “mothers and sisters” who had prayed for her husband.
Speaking at the BJP event in Delhi, Mr. Puri said his party will focus on the work and development done for the Capital’s residents.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that the festival of good over evil has begun in the national capital and that a BJP worker will soon become the Delhi Chief Minister.
