Atishi claimed today that the BJP had approached her to join the BJP or get arrested. While attending the press conference, she also said that four more senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are set to be arrested over the next two months. She alleged that she is the next to be arrested along with Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, and party MLA Durgesh Pathak.
Atishi said that the BJP is using the power of central agencies in its attempt to crush AAP. “The BJP has approached me through someone very close. They have asked me to join the BJP and said this will save my political career. They have threatened that if I don’t switch over, ED (Enforcement Directorate) will arrest me within a month,” she told the media.
“First, they put everyone under the AAP’s leadership in jail. Satyendra Jain, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and now Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been arrested. The BJP’s plan is to arrest four more AAP leaders in the next two months. They will arrest me, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, and Raghav Chadha,” she added.
The BJP, Ms. Atishi said, had thought that the party would splinter after Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. “But after the rally in Ramlila on Sunday, the BJP thinks the arrest of four leaders was not enough,” she said.
The Delhi minister claimed that she had received information that the ED may raid her and her relatives’ homes in the coming days. “We are Arvind Kejriwal’s soldiers; we won’t be cowed down by the BJP’s threats.”
BJP Reacts
Meanwhile, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari demands an apology from Atishi over her remarks and warns of legal action if she fails to prove the truthfulness of her claim.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva also slammed AAP leader Atishi, challenging her to provide details of her allegation or prepare that the BJP approached her to join it through her close friend to face legal action.
“If Atishi fails to provide details of the person who she claims approached her on our behalf to join the BJP, we will take legal action against her. She can’t make baseless allegations against us and get away with it,” Mr. Sachdeva said.
Party leader RP Singh said, “I too can say that Saurabh Bharadwaj called me up and requested that I protect them from Arvind Kejriwal, who wants to put them behind bars and make Sunita Kejriwal the Chief Minister. This is their internal tussle, which is coming out again and again in different forms.”
“The truth is that action will be taken against all whose names are involved in the matter. It is clear that the fight for the CM post has begun in AAP. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi are on one side, and Sunita Kejriwal and Arvind Kejriwal are on the other,” he alleged, according to news agency ANI.
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