Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as it poses the biggest challenge to the ruling party, as he led a discussion on a motion of confidence in the assembly’s Budget session.
The motion of confidence was subsequently passed through a voice vote, with 54 of the AAP’s 62 MLAs present during the proceedings.
Kejriwal, also the AAP’s national convenor, said that despite the BJP potentially winning this year’s Lok Sabha elections, the AAP aims to “liberate” the country from the saffron party in the 2029 elections.
Asserting his government’s majority in the House, Kejriwal emphasized the necessity of the confidence motion due to alleged attempts by the BJP to lure party MLAs and topple his administration.
Addressing allegations of defection, Kejriwal clarified that no AAP MLA had switched sides. He cited various reasons for absenteeism among MLAs, including incarceration, referring to Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, illness, and travel.
Kejriwal accused the BJP of attempting to dismantle the AAP by arresting him, challenging the party’s ability to suppress his ideas despite any personal actions taken against him.
The chief minister asserted that the BJP thought it could finish the AAP by arresting him. “You may arrest me but how will you finish Kejriwal’s thoughts?” he asked.
Further, Kejriwal criticized the BJP’s control over the Services department and bureaucracy, alleging obstruction of his government’s work, including stopping medical supplies to hospitals serving the underprivileged.
“They claim to be Ram bhakt but they stopped medicines for the poor people in our hospitals. Did Lord Ram ask for stopping medicines for the poor people?” he said.
Highlighting past attacks, including physical assaults and threats of arrest, Kejriwal condemned the BJP’s tactics aimed at undermining his leadership and the AAP’s agenda.
The discussion shed light on the intensifying political rivalry between the AAP and the BJP, with Kejriwal reaffirming his commitment to defending his party’s interests against perceived threats and challenges posed by the ruling party.
Earlier, a city court granted him exemption from physical appearance following an Enforcement Directorate complaint against him for skipping summonses in the excise policy case.
This is the second time that the Kejriwal government has sought a trust vote in the 70-member Assembly. In the current Assembly, the AAP has 62 MLAs while the BJP has eight.
On Friday, tabling the confidence motion, Kejriwal had said, “Two MLAs had come to me saying they were contacted by BJP members offering them Rs 25 crore each. They were told that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested and the government will be toppled.”
“They were also told that the BJP is in touch with 21 MLAs. They have made multiple attempts to approach our MLAs under ‘Operation Lotus’. Even this time, our MLAs refused to budge.” Kejriwal said the AAP checked with all its MLAs after these claims and it was found that seven of its legislators were approached, but none of them accepted the offer.
He also called said the “so-called liquor scam is not a scam”, and the aim is to topple the elected government.
“AAP leaders were arrested under the guise of the scam. But even this effort was not successful. Not a single MLA of ours has defected and all our MLAs are still with us,” the chief minister asserted in the House.
(With PTI inputs)