Days after stepping down from his chief ministerial post, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he had entered politics to change it and he resigned because he was hurt by the corruption allegations levelled against him by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Enforcement Directorate (ED) to intimidate or lure leaders.
In his first ‘Janta ki Adalat’ public meeting at Jantar Mantar following his resignation as Delhi chief minister, Kejriwal adopted a new political strategy to counter PM Modi, poising five questions to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat, including if the BJP’s rule on age of retirement also applied to Modi as it did for LK Advani.
He asked whether the rule under which several BJP veteran leaders such as Lal Krishna Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi retired from active politics when they turned 75, would apply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is turning 75 in September 2025. He questioned Bhagwat if he agreed with the BJP’s politics of calling politicians “corrupt†and then inducting them into its fold.
He demanded answers from the RSS for Prime Minister Modi’s actions, in an apparent bid to diminish his stature by implying that the parent Hindutva organisation was the master which should keep its child in control.
“Has the son become so big now that it is showing attitude to his mother?†Kejriwal said at a rally where he demanded five answers from the RSS chief. The questions he asked were political softballs but the implication of bringing Bhagwat into his new political narrative is new and unusual.
Kejriwal desired to know if the RSS agreed with the BJP’s politics of using central agencies to break up parties and topple opposition governments, and inducting “corrupt†leaders into its fold. While Kejriwal was addressing the gathering, the BJP held a protest against him and AAP on issues of corruption at Connaught Place, barely a kilometre away from Jantar Mantar. The BJP held another protest against Kejriwal at Rajghat on the same issue.
Jantar Mantar, on the other hand, was awash with AAP’s signature blue and yellow colours as hundreds of supporters filled the site with banners that declared Kejriwal as “one of usâ€, affirming their unwavering belief in his innocence.
As Kejriwal took the stage, the site echoed with slogans of “Na rukega, na jhukega…†while some AAP supporters held up posters bearing messages such as “Hamare Kejriwal imaandar haiâ€.
“I resigned because I did not come to do corruption or to earn money. I came to change the politics of the country...†Kejriwal said. The AAP convener said whether it was ethical for Modi to topple governments across the country by using investigating agencies like CBI and ED. He said he would leave the CM’s bungalow in a few days.
“I will leave my house soon and give up all the facilities. When I leave the CM house, I won’t even have a place to live. I’m getting a lot
of calls from people saying, ‘Come to my house, live at my house for free,’†said Kejriwal at the Janta Adalat. Several AAP leaders attended the party event at Jantar Mantar. AAP leader Manish Sisodia, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi also joined the event named the ‘Janta Ki Adalat’.
