People are smart and will respond to the BJP's move to put AAP national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal behind bars through their votes, his wife Sunita Kejriwal said in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
She arrived at Ahmedabad airport before heading to election rallies for candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Bharuch and Bhavnagar Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat. “They (BJP) have put Arvind Kejriwal forcefully behind bars during elections so that his voice doesn't reach the people. But the people are very smart and they will respond with their votes," she told media persons at the airport.
Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the Delhi government's now-scrapped excise policy. He is currently lodged in the Tihar jail in the national capital under judicial custody.
AAP's Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak, who accompanied her on the election tour, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks that he won't allow reservation to Muslims in the name of religion. “I would like to ask the prime minister why he remembers all these things before the elections. Why don't you ask for votes on the strength of your work? I think the prime minister is the biggest friend of Pakistan,” he said.
Addressing an election rally at Gujarat's Anand earlier in the day, PM Modi dubbed the Congress a "disciple" of Pakistan and said the neighbouring country was eager to make the 'shehzada' of the grand old party the next PM of India. “People are mature enough and they now seek schools, hospitals and better things in life,” said Pathak.
He claimed that people are with the AAP which has fielded candidates on two out of the state's 26 seats as part of the opposition INDIA bloc's seat-sharing agreement.
Of the Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, Surat has gone to the BJP's Mukesh Dalal won uncontested due to the rejection of the nomination of Congress candidates and the withdrawal by others in the fray.
“Even in the assembly elections, people showered their love on Kejriwal, looking at his work in Delhi. The people of Gujarat will shatter the BJP's overconfidence. People will respond through votes for how Kejriwal was jailed through injustice and tyranny,” he said.
On Surat's BJP candidate winning the election uncontested, Pathak said that the ruling party was indulging in politics by dividing the country and community and insulting others. “This amounts to stealing the public's rights and starting a tradition that is very bad for the country and the people,” he said.
