AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal on Friday termed as laughable allegations by a former party leader that he has made separatist comments, saying he must be the “world’s sweetest terrorist who builds schools and hospitals”.
The Delhi Chief Minister may consider his own comments innocuous, but his Punjab counterpart Charanjit Singh Channi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah don’t think so. Responding to an appeal by Channi that the allegations against Kejriwal be examined, Shah concurred and said the matter will be investigated "seriously". The comments against Kejriwal -- that he was a separatist-sympathiser -- were made by a former AAP leader and poet Kumar Vishwas.
Channi had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that he had received a letter from an overseas-based Sikh outfit which showed that the group was in constant touch with the AAP. The group had lent its support to the AAP in the 2017 polls, as it is doing now, he claimed, citing the letter. The AAP chief, however, saw the bonhomie between the two political opponents – Shah and Channi -- as farcical. "I have learnt that the central government called up Mr Channi and asked him to write the letter and demand an investigation. Over the next two days, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will register an FIR against me," Kejriwal said.
"I welcome all FIRs. But if this is how the central government deals with the security of the country, then I am quite worried about it... they have made national security a comedy. No agency found anything on me even after all these raids and one day the PM realises what a huge risk I am after a poet reads out a poem," he said.
The AAP leader said even the British had called Bhagat Singh a terrorist, but the country knows there was no bigger patriot than him. Targeting the Centre, Kejriwal said, “Earlier, the Delhi Police, ED and the I-T conducted raids at my offices, in my house, but none of the agencies found anything. Then one day, one poet (Vishwas) recited a poem in which he said seven years ago, Kejriwal had told him they will break the country into two parts, after which I will become the PM of one and he (the former AAP leader) would become the PM of the other.
After this, Rahul Gandhi repeated this; Modi saw Rahul’s speech and then it dawned on him that there is a big terrorist in the country.’’ The Delhi CM’s party has emerged as a key challenger to the ruling Congress in Punjab.
