New Delhi [India], January 6 : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi MLAs on Tuesday staged a protest at the Delhi Assembly premises against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him and his party of spreading falsehoods regarding an alleged order related to stray dogs.
The BJP leaders alleged that the AAP misled the public by claiming that an order had been passed regarding the deployment of Delhi government teachers for counting stray dogs. The protestors demanded a public apology from Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP leadership, terming the allegations "baseless" and "irresponsible."
Speaking to ANI at the protest site, BJP MLA Harish Khurana accused Kejriwal and the AAP of "lying" and said they should be "ashamed" of misleading the people. He said the BJP had raised the issue in the Assembly and demanded that the AAP apologise to the citizens of Delhi, teachers and the entire country.
"Kejriwal and the AAP gang lied; they claimed that we had passed an order regarding dogs. They should be ashamed. Today, we demanded in the Assembly that they apologise for this. We demand that they apologise to Delhi, to the teachers, and to the entire country," Khurana told ANI.
Meanwhile, BJP minister Ashish Sood also addressed a press conference on Tuesday in response to AAP's allegations regarding the deployment of teachers for counting stray dogs. Slamming Arvind Kejriwal, Sood accused him of indulging in what he described as "shoot-and-scoot politics" and irresponsible conduct.
During the press conference, Sood displayed a letter addressed to Kejriwal and said that the BJP would no longer tolerate what it termed as the politics of creating sensation through unfounded allegations and then evading responsibility. He further alleged that Kejriwal was indulging in a politics of "indecency" to maintain his relevance.
He said," I have written to AAP National Convenor & former CM of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, on his allegations of deployment of Delhi govt teachers for counting of stray dogs. We will not let the irresponsible behaviour and the politics of the shoot-and-scoot of Arvind Kejriwal and his party prevail in Delhi. He is trying to run the politics of indecency in the capital for maintaining his relevance."
He also claimed that the letter was written with "utmost decency", and then he read what he wrote. He dictated, "Given your background in administration as a former chief minister, your statement cannot be regarded as a mere misunderstanding. Instead, it appears to be part of a deliberate attempt to derail the smooth implementation of a critical safety initiative. Unfortunately, such conduct reflects a continuous pattern, wherein the Aam Aadmi Party indulges in what can be best described as shoot and scoot political making unfounded allegations, creating sensation and then retreating from responsibility."
In the letter, he alleged that Arvind Kejriwal's statements are a "deliberate" attempt to derail the smooth implementation of a critical safety initiative. He further claimed that he, alongwith BJP Minister Kapil Mishra, had already mentioned that the government was ready for a discussion on the issue of pollution, with time allotted for its discussion in Vidhan Sabha.
He said, "AAP Party yesterday said that the government is running away from discussion on pollution. Alongwith me, Kapil Mishra said that the government will discuss pollution. It has been mentioned in the timetable of Vidhan Sabha as well."
Thus, he demanded that the AAP National Convenor apologise to the citizens of Delhi, alleging that the former chief minister was lying. The minister took a jibe at Kejriwal, saying that if the AAP leader asks for forgiveness, the Delhi government has a "big heart" and will forgive him without filing a defamation lawsuit.
He said, "Everywhere he lies and runs away. Now, we won't let him run away; he has to ask for forgiveness from the citizens of Delhi. You have to take responsibility for your lies. He has already asked for forgiveness from Delhi residents, so he must ask again. And the Delhi government, with a big heart, will forgive him. Earlier, he also falsely accused people. In defamation cases, he asked for forgiveness, and we will forgive him without any defamation case."