Kejriwal's arrest in 2024 strengthened AAP's resolve to take on BJP: Atishi
Panaji (PTI): AAP leader Atishi has described former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest by the ED last year as a "very difficult phase" for the party, but insisted it only strengthened their resolve to fight the BJP "till their last breath".
Talking to PTI in Goa on Tuesday, former Delhi CM Atishi said when Kejriwal was taken away by the Enforcement Directorate, sleuths in connection with a money laundering case in March 2024, she went home with a sinking heart but a firm determination.
"When Arvind Kejriwal ji was arrested, I remember reaching home that night and thinking - whatever may happen now, we will fight against the BJP till our last breath," she said when asked if after Kejriwal's arrest she thought it was all over.
The AAP, being a small party, is bound together not just by politics but by deep personal bonds, the leader of opposition in the Delhi assembly maintained.
"We are friends, family, colleagues - we built this party together. When one after another our leaders went to jail, it was not only about the person who was arrested. We used to look at their families, I could see the health of Manish Sisodia's wife deteriorating when he was in jail," she recalled.
On the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) head Kejriwal, Atishi said if he had to indulge in corruption, he would not have left the job of Income Tax commissioner. He dedicated himself to the public life even risking his health, she added.
"These days, I have heard IRS officers opting for Voluntary Retirement Scheme because they have either purchased a hotel in London, Paris or have a property there," she quipped.
But, here is a man (Kejriwal) who has sacrificed so much for this country, even his personal health, the Goa AAP in-charge said.
"And if BJP can accuse such a honest person of being involved in corruption, then I decided that I will fight against the BJP till my last breath," she said.
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
