Kejriwal likens PM Modi to Indira: Here is why it is not just about the Liquor Scam but Khalistan

It would be naive to view Kejriwal’s statement as a standalone one and unrelated to the politics of Punjab. Punjab has been in a perpetually restive state after Kejriwal’s AAP won the elections there. The Khalistani elements have never been as emboldened as they are now.

BY ASHISH DEV PRIY OJHA

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal has launched an attack on PM Narendra Modi following the arrest of Manish Sisodia, comparing PM Modi to Indira Gandhi. He said that PM Modi has crossed all limits, as Indira Gandhi had done.

Talking to reporters on Wednesday, Arvind Kejriwal said “Jaise ek zamane me Indira Gandhi ne ati kar di thi, aaj Pradhan Mantri Ji ati kar rahe hain. Aur jab ati ho jati hai tab prakriti apna kaam karti hai” (The PM has crossed all limits like Indira Gandhi had done. And when all limits are crossed, nature takes its course). The statement comes in the wake of the arrest of Manish Sisodia in the excise police scam months after the arrest of Satyendra Jain in a money laundering scam.

The Delhi CM alleged that PM Modi got them arrested because they were doing good work in the fields of education and health respectively. Kejriwal also said that he will send his councillors and other members to educate people on the Liquor Scam. Kejriwal was furious about the arrests, calling Sisodia and Jain ‘two of the best ministers,’ and went unhinged in his statements saying that they were arrested for ‘their good works’, not because of any scam.

Kejriwal went on to say “If Sisodia had not done good work, would Modi Ji still have him arrested? If Satyendra Jain had not done good work, would Modi Ji still have him arrested? They were arrested because they did good work in their flields. If Sisodia joins BJP today, all cases will be withdrawn and he will not be in jail anymore. The aim is not to end corruption but to harass ministers and use CBI and ED to stop the good work in the capital”.

It is notable that Manish Sisodia has been arrested in the excise police scam, where several irregularities have been found. The Delhi govt had changed the way liquor is sold in Delhi, marking the exit of all govt owned liquor shops, replaced by private retailers. However, the Delhi chief secretary had found irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy. In a report submitted to the Delhi LG, Manish Sisodia was accused of making changes to the excise policy without the authorisation of the Lieutenant Governor and providing ‘undue benefits’ to the liquor vendors. Following the expose, the Delhi govt was forced to revert to its earlier policy.

Similarly, Satyendar Jain, arrested in May 2022, is accused in a money laundering case and courts have denied him bail repeatedly, showing there is substantial evidence against him. But Arvind Kejriwal wants people to believe that they are arrested because ‘they were doing good work’, and compared Narendra Modi with Indira Gandhi, who had put opposition leaders in jail during the emergency.

It would be naive to view Kejriwal’s statement as a standalone one and unrelated to the politics of Punjab. Punjab has been in a perpetually restive state after Kejriwal’s AAP won the elections there. The Khalistani elements have never been as emboldened as they are now.

Amritpal Singh, the new face of the Khalistan movement, in a recent statement, issued threats to home minister Amit Shah saying that he will meet the fate of Indira Gandhi. Singh said on 20 February, “Indira tried to suppress, what happened? Now Amit Shah can fulfil his wish and see.”

Today Arvind Kejriwal made almost similar statements when he said that Modi’s actions were similar to that of Indira Gandhi. This is a classic example of pandering to the Khalistani elements. It is notable that Indira Gandhi was assassinated by the Khalistanis.

Former comedian and the current CM of Punjab Bhagwant Mann has been totally clueless about the Punjab situation and has failed to keep hate in check. The law and order situation in Punjab every now and then spirals out of control and verges on the edge of riots. The rioters have devised a new method to deter the police from taking any action against them, they would bring Palki Sahib with them during the riot or assault and if the police touches the Palki Sahib it would be considered Beadbi (Blasphemy). We saw this in display during the assault on Ajnala Police station to free Lovepreet Toofan, a close aide of Amritpal Singh.

Amrilpal Singh’s statement and Kejriwal’s recent statements have the same language and the same tumultuous tone, this doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.

Amritpal Singh currently heads the pro-Khalistan group named Waris Punjab De, founded by singer Deep Sidhu. Singh became its chief after the death of Sidhu in a road accident. Since then, he has raised as a major Khalistani leader, following the footsteps of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. In fact, he has been trying to imitate Bhindranwale, and from attire to ideology and issues to speeches, everything that Amritpal Singh is doing reminds one of Bhindranwale.

KPS Gill in a 2017 interview said that the activities of certain political parties are fanning the radical secessionist sentiments in Punjab. Kumar Vishwas, a former aide of Kejriwal went a step further and said that Arvind Kejriwal once told him that he would either be the CM of Punjab or the first PM of the independent nation of Khalistan.

The Khalistan movement is funded mostly by the radicalised Khalistanis in countries like Canada, Australia etc. and by the Pakistani state. Any attempt to woo the Khalistanis must be seen as a threat to national security and must be stopped with firm force.