'Today's rulers worse than the British': Kejriwal attacks BJP
New Delhi, Mar 23 (PTI): AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday accused the BJP of disregarding the legacy of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and social reformer Bhimrao Ambedkar.
The former Delhi chief minister also said "today's rulers are worse than the British", taking a dig at the ruling BJP.
Kejriwal was speaking at the AAP's 'Ek Shaam Shaheedon Ke Naam' event here, his first public appearance in Delhi after losing the assembly polls in the national capital.
He said his party entered politics to fulfil the dreams of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar, and not for power.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai likened his party's recent electoral loss in Delhi to the way Abhimanyu was trapped and deceived in the "Chakravyuh" (maze) in the Mahabharata. He asserted that just as Abhimanyu fought valiantly, the AAP too would rise again with greater strength.
The event was organised at the AAP headquarters to pay tributes to freedom fighters Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev to commemorate Shaheedi Diwas.
Senior AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia, MP Sanjay Singh, Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi, party's Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj, Gopal Rai, MLAs, councillors, and other party workers attended the event.
Addressing the event, Kejriwal said, "Our role models are Babasaheb Ambedkar and Bhagat Singh. Bhagat Singh used to say that merely removing the British was not enough, the structure of society had to change. Otherwise, brown rulers would replace the British."
"This is exactly what has happened and today's rulers are worse than the British," Kejriwal added.
Within 48 hours of assuming power in Delhi, the BJP removed portraits of Bhagat Singh and Ambedkar from government offices, the AAP supremo claimed, adding that while the Congress had earlier condemned the installation of their portraits, it remained silent when the BJP removed them.
"I want to ask them if there is anyone who has sacrificed more for the country than Bhagat Singh," he said.
Kejriwal said even during the British rule, Bhagat Singh was allowed to write letters from jail, recounting how, when he (Kejriwal) wrote a letter to the lieutenant governor while in prison, he was issued a show-cause notice.
Criticising the BJP government for allegedly restricting the free bus ride scheme for women in Delhi, Kejriwal said conductors are now denying free pink tickets to women unless they download an app.
"Why are they doing this? Instead of improving facilities, they are withdrawing the existing ones. By now, they should have started giving Rs 2,500 to women, but they have not," he said, accusing the BJP of failing to fulfil its poll promises.
He also questioned why Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had assured that existing welfare schemes would not be discontinued, had allowed such restrictions to be placed on women's free travel.
"When history of this era is written, it will state that only AAP fought and resisted these cruel rulers," Kejriwal said.
AAP Delhi unit chief Bharadwaj compared the party's recent electoral loss to the process of purifying gold in a furnace.
"When a goldsmith melts gold, he determines how much of it is actual gold and how much is brass. After this election, the gold has come to us, and the brass has moved away. Those who are 24-carat gold stand with AAP and Arvind Kejriwal," Bharadwaj said, asserting that the party remains strong despite challenges.
Senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said that the party was born out of struggle and would continue its mission across the country. He drew a parallel between AAP's current situation and the fate of Abhimanyu in the Mahabharata.
"They tried to trap and destroy Abhimanyu (Kejriwal), but he is alive and will return with full strength. The strength of this Abhimanyu comes from martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev, who fought against British tyranny," Rai said.
"Delhiites have given AAP 43 per cent of the votes polled in the election. We will take to the streets to fight for their rights," he added.
The AAP lost to the BJP in the national capital after ruling for over 10 years in the assembly elections concluded last month. The BJP won 48 out of 70 seats leaving the AAP with 22 seats.
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Gurugram Police arrest BJP Yuva Morcha member for spreading fake murder story on social media
New Delhi: Gurugram Police have arrested BJP Yuva Morcha member Hariom Mishra, for allegedly spreading a fabricated and communally sensitive story on social media about the murder of a college student in Gurugram.
Mishra who is also known as Shaurya Mishra had shared a collage of four photographs on his X handle earlier this month. He claimed that a 24-year-old college student, identified as Nikita Agarwal, had been murdered by her classmate Arif Khan in Gurugram. In the post, he alleged that the woman was blackmailed, forced into prostitution, gangraped, and eventually killed. He also claimed that Arif dumped her body in a forest. The claims were presented as being based on police sources.
The post went viral and garnering over 1.5 lakh views, and was amplified by several right-wing social media handles across X, Facebook and Instagram. A verification of the claims revealed that no such incident had taken place in Gurugram. A search of credible news reports showed no record of any such murder. The police said this news would have inevitably attracted media attention if it were true.
On December 11, Gurugram Police publicly refuted the claims through their official X handle. They stated that the information which was being circulated was completely false. The police warned that legal action would be taken against those spreading misinformation. Despite the warning, Mishra neither deleted the post nor issued any clarification.
Police in Gurugram confirmed Mishra's arrest on December 16. The police said a FIR was filed after he continued to spread false information about the alleged murder of a Hindu woman by Muslim man. Police said Mishra, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi district, is now being investigated.
Gurugram Police spokesperson Sandeep Singh told The Print that the accused had deliberately misrepresented facts and used objectionable content to spread hatred along religious lines. “Such posts can create serious disturbances in society, and the police take these matters very seriously,” he said.
A reverse image search conducted by fact-checkers at Alt News, revealed that the photographs used in the viral post were unrelated to the claims, while two of the images were traced to a Pinterest account belonging to influencer Maulik Chopra and another image was sourced from an Instagram post by influencer Shivam Thakur featuring a woman named Deepanshi Rawat. The fourth image was found on an unrelated Instagram page. The images depicted different individuals and had no connection to any crime.
Police said they are also investigating Mishra’s motive behind sharing the false and provocative content.
