With an aim to arrest the Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Arvind Kejriwal, on false charges and then bring down the elected Delhi government by buying Aam Aadmi Party MLAs, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has initiated Operation Lotus 2.0. Aam Aadmi Party’s senior leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi exposed this conspiracy of the BJP at a press conference here on Saturday.
Addressing mediapersons, AAP senior leader said, “The Bhartiya Janta Party is trying to bring down the elected government of Delhi by poaching MLAs. In the past few days, the BJP has contacted seven MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party and told them that the BJP will soon get Arvind Kejriwal arrested. Thereafter they will get AAP MLAs into the BJP one by one.”
She said the BJP told them that they are in touch with 21 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party at present and they will bring down the elected government of Delhi soon. Seven MLAs of Aam Aadmi Party have been offered Rs 25 crore each to join the Bhartiya Janta Party, Atishi added.
Meanwhile, referring to the Operation Lotus launched by the BJP, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convenor Shri Arvind Kejriwal shared on his X handle: “Recently they (BJP functionaries) have contacted our 7 MLAs of Delhi and said ‘we will arrest Kejriwal after a few days. After that we will make the AAP MLAs defect. Talks have been held with 21 MLAs. Talking to other AAP MLAs also. After that we will topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. You can also join. Will give (you) Rs 25 crore and BJP ticket to contest the elections.’”
On his social media platform, X, handle, Shri Arvind Kejriwal further shared, “Although he (the BJP functionary) claims that he has contacted 21 AAP MLAs but as per our information he has contacted only 7 MLAs so far and all of them refused (the proposal).
At the press conference, Atishi said, “This ‘Operation Lotus’ is not being done for the first time by the BJP. Operation Lotus is the way of the BJP to bring down elected governments in the non-BJP-ruled states. They buy MLAs and threaten them with CBI and ED to bring down the elected governments. BJP has conducted this operation lotus in many states in the past, including Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh where they have brought down the elected government.”
The AAP senior leader added that the BJP has not done this once. “In some of the states, it has conducted this operation lotus many times. In Delhi, the BJP has tried twice to conduct its operation lotus. In 2013, when 28 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party were elected, the BJP tried its best to break them and poach them. At that time the AAP conducted a counter sting on BJP and exposed its vice president Sher Singh Dagar in front of the country.”
She further said, “In 2022, BJP offered Rs 20 crores each to AAP MLAs. BJP’s operation lotus failed every time because AAP MLAs were not scared of BJP’s threats and never fell for their offer. Now BJP has started Operation Lotus 2.0, in which they want to get Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested in case of this so-called liquor scam.”
Atishi said the BJP intends to arrest Arvind Kejriwal in fake charges of the alleged liquor scam through the ED and after that, they will try to intimidate Aam Aadmi Party legislators by offering money to bring down the elected government in Delhi with an aim to form a BJP government in Delhi.
Sharing his colleague Atishi’s views, CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal in his X message wrote: “This means that I am not being arrested to investigate any liquor scam, but they are conspiring to topple the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi. In the last nine years, they hatched many conspiracies to topple our government. But they did not get any success. God and the people always supported us. All our MLAs are also strongly supporting us. This time also these people will fail in their nefarious design.”
Addressing mediapersons, Atishi said, “Today, we are witnessing that BJP spokespersons are holding frequent press conferences, repeatedly stating that Arvind Kejriwal is going to be arrested, going to jail and that the ED will arrest Kejriwal. The sole reason for the summons that follow is an attempt to topple Delhi’s popular government by levying false accusations against Arvind Kejriwal.”
She further said: “I want to tell the BJP that the leaders and legislators of the Aam Aadmi Party will not be afraid of their threats, nor will they succumb to their temptations. The people of Delhi have trusted and supported the Aam Aadmi Party government, winning with a significant majority twice. We will continue to work for the people of Delhi, dedicating our time, effort, and resources to their well-being.”
Atishi told reporters that if Arvind Kejriwal is put in jail to bring down the elected government of Delhi, the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “If Arvind Kejriwal is arrested, the BJP, which currently holds 7 Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, will face a setback and may even be reduced to zero, because the people of Delhi will never accept the attacks on Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party,” she said.
Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s message on the social media platform continued: “These people know how much work our government has done for the people of Delhi. Despite all the obstacles created by them, we have accomplished so much. The people of Delhi love “AAP” immensely. Therefore, it is not in their power to defeat AAP in the elections. So, they want to topple the government by arresting them (AAP MLAs) on the pretext of a fake liquor scam.”
