New Delhi, 22 March 2024;
Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Bhagwant Mann said the current situation in the country is an undeclared emergency in which various government probe agencies are being used as a tool to finish off the opposition.
Addressing media persons after meeting the family of Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal, the Punjab Chief Minister said that the current situation has been on for many years under which the agencies are being used as a tool. If any opposition leader speaks against the atrocities of the BJP, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) comes to his house, CBI comes to his house, Income Tax comes. The situation in the country has become like an undeclared emergency. “Where they don’t have their government, they are harassing through the Governor. I am also it’s victim. The Chief Minister of Kerala went to Jantar Mantar (against the same), the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu is fed up with his Governor. His Governor does not read the speech what he is supposed to read in the Assembly in the budget session. Mamata didi is being harassed every day, Hemant Soren has been arrested,” he said.
Bhagwant Mann said, in Delhi people are harassing Arvind Kejriwal whenever he does any work. The government has to be run through the Supreme Court. We also reached the Supreme Court. Funds to the tune of Rs 8000 crore, including rural development fund of Rs 5500 crore and the National Health Mission funds belonging to Punjab are stuck. “We are not begging. That is our tax money, the share of the people of Punjab,” he said, adding that he had to go to the Supreme Court against the Governor, who was not allowing the budget session to take place in Punjab.
Mann said, (MK) Stalin ji; Chief Minister of Kerala and Arvind Kejriwal had to go to the Supreme Court for everything.
The Punjab Chief Minister said that despite the five-bench decision of the Supreme Court that the services should remain with Arvind Kejriwal’s government, the BJP-ruled Centre did not accept it and brought an ordinance and said that they will not allow Arvind Kejriwal to work. “Today, the person who built a hospital in Delhi, who brought about a health revolution in the entire country by providing free medicines and 40 to 50 free tests for public, is in jail. Manish Sisodia, the one who turned around the government schools in Delhi that produced students who get admission in MBBS and IIT, is in jail. Sanjay Singh, who stood up and spoke against Modi ji in Rajya Sabha, is in jail. Now, they arrested Arvind Kejriwal Saheb,” he said.
Mann said he does not feel there is any democracy left in the country. “If a TV journalist does unfavourable reporting, they arrest the journalist. If a YouTuber says something, they bring a law against him saying that your contact is inflammatory, it will be considered as hate speech. Who gives the most hate speeches in the country? The BJP people give the most hate speeches,” he said.
Mann said we do politics of work and not for name. “It has been two years since I became the Chief Minister. In two years, we gave 43000 government jobs, built 829 Aam Aadmi Clinics where over 1.25 crore got treatment and cured. Shouldn’t we be do this work (in public interest)? National Health Mission money has been withheld to stop the scheme of the Aam Aadmi Party,” he said.
Mann said the BJP hates the people of Punjab. “(They decided) there will be no tableau of Punjab in the parade on 26th January. Our tableau showed the freedom fighters of Punjab, who struggled for India’s Independence. 80% of our ancestors participated in the freedom struggle. Who are you (BJP) to stop? How can you celebrate 26th January and 15th August without Punjab? Our ancestors made sacrifices and how will you celebrate 15th August and 26th January without Punjab. Who are you to reject Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Lala Lajpat Rai, Madanlal Dhingra, Jaliya Wala Bagh incident which were in the tableau. You are standing against those who gave freedom to the country. I doubt that if they had their way, they would remove the name of Punjab from the national song Jana Gana Mana. They hate Punjab so much,” he said.
Talking about the role of Punjab in agriculture and defence, The Punjab Chief Minister said, “Punjab feeds the entire country. Punjab has a border of 532 kilometres with Pakistan, our sons stand today from Kargil to Punjab, to fight the enemy bullets. But they (BJP) hate us so much.”
Mann said what the country is going through is no less than dictatorship. “They arrested Arvind Kejriwal. We kept saying that they (BJP) will arrest him, that they are looking for an excuse. See the timing. What do they want? No opposition leader should be able to campaign in this election, they want to snatch this election. What happened in Russia three days ago, Putin got 88% votes, no one can go against him. So, they too are following Putin’s path. This is dictatorship,” he said.
The Punjab Chief Minister said this is no less than dictatorship. “They (ED) come (to CM’s) home at 8 pm, keep searching till 9 pm, then arrest him. We will ask for remand, we will do this, we will do that,” he said.
Mann said that Arvind Kejriwal is a patriotic person, if he had to earn money, he would not have left his job. “He has been an IRS officer, his wife is also an IRS officer, Income Tax Commissioner. If they wanted to earn money, then why would they leave a good job?” he reasoned.
The Punjab Chief Minister said they (BJP) think that everyone is like them. “To a saint everyone seems to be a saint, to a thief everyone seems to be a thief. What happened to their electoral bonds? When the details about the electoral bonds worth around Rs 8000 crore were released, they said it was a donation. If someone does good work, then they say that this is a scam,” he said.
Mann said he met Arvind Kejriwal’s family who are being unnecessarily being harassed. “I have just met his family. He has a son and a daughter. They have to take next level exams. They have to meet someone for the books, but they (ED) are not letting them go out. Visitors to the family have to take permission from the police. What is the fault of his children, his wife,” he said.
The Punjab Chief Minister said they (BJP) do not believe in any constitutional institution. “Tell me who do they believe in? They don’t believe in the Supreme Court, they don’t believe in the Election Commission, they don’t believe in the CBI, they don’t believe in the NITI Aayog. This is very condemnable,” he said.
Cautioning the BJP not to underestimate the AAP that has grown from strength to strength in the past over a decade, Mann said, “The Aam Aadmi Party is no longer a small party, it became a national party in 10 years. In 10 years, we have governments in two states, we have 10 members in Rajya Sabha and one member in Lok Sabha. We have 4 MLAs in Gujarat, 2 MLAs in Goa. We have a mayor in Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh.”
The Punjab Chief Minister said the AAP has a mayor in Chandigarh as well. Reminding of the fraud that was committed in the Chandigarh mayoral elections by the BJP, Mann said, “You know how the Mayor of Chandigarh was declared. Is this democracy? Eight out of 36 votes which were declared invalid (by the BJP’s Presiding Officer), were declared valid by the Supreme Court. This is the first time in judicial history that the Supreme Court has declared the name of the mayor. I am not happy that we have a mayor, I am worried that 8 out of 36 votes, that is, 25% of the votes were declared invalid (by fraud),” he said.
Fearing something of the sort to happen in the upcoming General Election, Mann said, “What will they do on 4th June 2024, when 92 crore votes will be counted? People cast their vote for someone, it goes to someone else, and the majority goes to someone else. They treat the elections as if it is their private business. Shri Arvind Kejriwal has already said that they will change the constitution if they come to power. It is important to protect the Constitution of India, drafted by Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar.”
The Chief Minister of Punjab further added how the world is a witness to what is happening in the country. He stated how Shri Narendra Modi gets presidents of other countries to call him the most famous Prime Minister in the world and feels that that is enough.
“What was he doing during the Farmers’ Protest? Recently during the Farmers’ Protest, I was asked by the reporters that why do these farmers come to Delhi? In response, I asked them why did Modi Ji came to Delhi? To which, the reporter replied that he has come to Delhi because he has won the elections. I said the citizens will follow him to the place where he is running the government from. Where will they go to then, Lahore? At the time of Farmers’ Protest’, the these (BJP) people had laid more wires on Delhi borders than the ones on Lahore border. Even Pakistan does not lay these many fences and wires on the Lahore Border because they do not need it. The BJP people do not solve the farmers’ issues but run ads on television where the kid tells his father that Shri Narendra Modi has stopped the war between Ukraine and Russia. They can stop wars happening in other countries but cannot talk to the farmers in their own country. Wonderful!”
Standing firmly in support of Shri Arvind Kejriwal in this difficult time, Mann said, “Through the media, I would like to say this to the citizens of the country that the Aam Aadmi Party is standing strong with Shri Arvind Kejriwal, like a solid rock. You (BJP) can arrest the body of Shri Arvind Kejriwal, but not his thoughts. He is not a person, he is an idea, a thought. We are standing firmly in his support. We have all come here leaving behind everything because he is a man who does positive politics and invites similar people to join him in this movement. I also came behind that idea. I was a famous artist; I did not need to do any of this. These BJP people keep attacking me all the time. Actually, their problem is that why did our sons and daughters, hailing from ordinary families, win and sit on the chairs. This is their problem.”
On being questioned about the future of the party and its leaders, the Punjab CM said, “Hum wo patte nahi jo shaakh se toot kar gir jaaenge, aandhiyon ko keh do apni aukaat me rahe (We are not the leaves that will break from the branch and fall, tell the storms to stay within their limit). None of this will affect the party, we will come out stronger. I’m again saying that Shri Arvind Kejriwal is not a person, he is a thought. In the last 10 years, millions of Kejriwals have been born in the nation. How many of them will the BJP arrest? We will all take his legacy forward together.
Another reporter questioned the Punjab CM’s opinion on the BJP’s claims that the Aam Aadmi Party will soon break down in Punjab, the units will separate, and the AAP government will fall in Delhi. Mann stated, “Day and night they (BJP) think about whose government to topple, whose government to break, whose MLA to bribe. This is what they’ve been doing. Wherever they lose the elections, they buy votes. Wherever they are losing in elections, they win by by-elections. They would take resignation from 30 people and get the by-elections conducted, solely by reducing the strength of the House. They wake up the governor at 4 am to conduct the oath illegally.”
The Punjab CM also took potshots at the illegal oath taking tendency of the BJP. He said, “Fortunately, Trump did not ask for their advice otherwise they would have made Trump also take oath and once the oath is taken, Amit Shah will take over.”
On being asked about the reason of withdrawal of CM Kejriwal’s plea at Supreme Court challenging ED arrest, and ED seeking his remand for custodial interrogation for 10 days, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann stated, “It is our legal decision to pursue the case in the lower court. Regarding the ED, they will demand for a custodial remand for 10 days first, then for 15 days, and so on. They will then request judicial remand and keep getting the bail applications cancelled. They do not listen to anyone; they do not even abide by the decision of the bench of Supreme Court. So, who will you trust? We are not afraid; we will abide by whatever the court says regarding the remand.”
Another reporter requested the Punjab CM’s opinion on the ED’s claim that Shri Arvind Kejriwal is the prime suspect (conspirator) in Delhi Liquor Policy Scam. Shri Bhagwant Mann replied by saying that he is the main conspirator in finishing off the BJP. Shri Arvind Kejriwal has sent shivers down their (BJP) spines, they are only afraid of him. They do not care about any other party, whether it is Congress or any other party. The only party that gives them cold sweats is the Aam Aadmi Party, and the pace at which this small party has been rising. They are scared of our successful election campaigns in Punjab, Delhi, and Kurukshetra. Anyone who opposes them or poses a threat to them is a prime suspect.
One reporter questioned him on the meeting of the prominent leaders of the INDIA alliance today to discuss the arrest of Shri Arvind Kejriwal and if the INDIA alliance is making a strategy together. To which Shri Bhagwant Mann said, “Of course, we will have a meeting. I have been a part of the meetings along with Shri Arvind Kejriwal, whether in Bangalore, Mumbai, or Patna. This matter is not just about Shri Arvind Kejriwal, this is a matter of protecting the democracy.”
On being asked about the condition of the family on Shri Kejriwal’s arrest, the Punjab CM stated that the family is worried yet hopeful.
Shri Bhagwant Mann clarified that the BJP’s belief that they will cripple the Aam Aadmi Party and would not let them campaign, is wrong. We will continue campaigning with more enthusiasm. I will have a discussion with Shri Gopal Rai and Shri Pankaj Gupta, along with other senior leaders. He also stated that the INDIA alliance will continue standing strong and all of us stand against the fraudulent arrest of Delhi CM Shri Arvind Kejriwal.
“We will also write to the Election Commission that it is against the democracy to arrest the National Convenor of a National Party during the crucial time of election campaigning. You (Election Commission) have broken the Shiv Sena, you have disintegrated Sharad Pawar’s party, you have been doing this for a long time. This would not be tolerated for a long period. I have said this in the Parliament before that than the BJP is trying to disintegrate the country, they are the actual ‘Tukde Tukde’ gang. I have said this before in the parliament, ‘Lambe safar ko meelon me mat baatiye, kaum ko kabeelo me mat baatiye, ek behta dariya hai mera Bharat desh, isko nadiyo or jheelon me mat baatiye’ (Don’t divide a long journey into miles, don’t divide a community into tribes, my country India is a flowing river, don’t divide it into rivers and lakes).”
The Punjab CM further stated that the AAP is in full swing, and we (AAP) have actively protested throughout the country today. Shri Arvind Kejriwal will emerge stronger from these crises. The citizens of India have understood the dictatorial policies of the BJP, where they target anyone who wins against them.
On being asked about the increased responsibility of campaigning for the upcoming elections now that the AAP Supremo has been arrested, the Punjab stated that he has been going to every election campaign and will continue taking the baton forward. He will go everywhere where the party directs him to go, like a loyal soldier, whether it is Gujarat, Kurukshetra, or any other place.
Another reporter asked him about the potential effects of Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest on Punjab and BJP’s claims of dominating Punjab elections. The Punjab CM stated, “The BJP merely has two out of 117 seats in Punjab, their bogus claims are nothing but their imagination. The BJP cannot buy the MLAs of AAP, our MLAs are not in the Mandi (Market).”
