NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party on Friday accused the BJP-led central government and Delhi Police of conspiring to “kill” its supremo Arvind Kejriwal. The party urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to reinstate his security cover, earlier provided by the Punjab Police, which was recently withdrawn. AAP also filed a complaint with the EC regarding alleged attacks on Kejriwal during ongoing poll campaigns in the capital.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi chief minister Atishi and Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the Delhi Police, under the Union home ministry’s jurisdiction, of turning a blind eye to alleged threats and attacks on Kejriwal. They claimed these incidents were orchestrated under the directives of home minister Amit Shah.
“There are two players involved in this conspiracy to kill Kejriwalji – the BJP and the Delhi Police. Both are working together to end his life. Repeated attacks have been made on him, yet there has been no action by the police,” Atishi said.
“We have written to the EC demanding that Kejriwal’s security be restored. We do not trust the Delhi police as it is under Amit Shah’s control,” Delhi CM added.
Delhi CM carried her attack further on Centre, asking “Has it ever happened in our country that a person who has Z+ security is attacked repeatedly and the police does not even come forward and the attackers are not even caught?”
The AAP leaders demanded that the ECI take urgent steps to ensure a fair election process for the February 5 Delhi assembly polls, including the restoration of Kejriwal’s Punjab police security detail. They also requested an audit of previous “life-threatening” incidents targeting Kejriwal.
Atishi cited an October attack on Kejriwal, alleging that the attackers were BJP workers. “Despite evidence linking BJP members, no action was taken by the Delhi police,” she added.
According to AAP, Kejriwal has been repeatedly targeted during his campaign. On Thursday, Kejriwal alleged that opposition supporters disrupted his public meeting in Hari Nagar and attacked his car.
“Today in Hari Nagar, police allowed opposition candidates’ men to enter my public meeting and attack my car. All this is happening on Amit Shah’s orders. Amit Shah has turned the Delhi Police into the BJP’s personal army,” Kejriwal posted on X.
Last week, the AAP national convenor accused BJP workers of targeting him during another campaign rally.
In a related development, Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav confirmed that security provided to Kejriwal by the Punjab Police had been withdrawn following directives from the ECI and the Delhi Police.
The AAP has called the decision to remove the security detail a part of the BJP’s “dirty politics” ahead of the polls, accusing the ruling party of prioritising political gain over Kejriwal’s safety.
The Delhi assembly elections will be held in a single phase on February 5, with vote counting scheduled for February 8. A total of 699 candidates are contesting for 70 assembly seats.
While the Congress, which ruled Delhi for 15 years, has seen sharp declines in the last two elections, the AAP achieved overwhelming victories, winning 67 and 62 seats in the 2015 and 2020 polls, respectively. The BJP secured just three and eight seats in these elections.