Delhi Cabinet Minister and prominent AAP leader Atishi claimed that the BJP had given her an ultimatum to join the party or prepare to face an imminent arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a month.
The allegation from the AAP leader came a day after Rouse Avenue Court sent Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in an alleged money laundering case.
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Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Atishi alleged that the saffron party approached her through one of her close associates. “I want to inform the people of the country that the BJP approached me through an individual who is personally very close to me, to join their party. I was told to either join the BJP, to save and extend my political career, and if I did not join the BJP then I would be arrested by the ED within a month,” she said.
Atishi claimed that PM Narendra Modi and the BJP had made up their minds to crush the AAP and all its leaders. In pursuit of their agenda, they have got the top leadership of the AAP arrested. “First it was Satyendar Jain then Manish Sisodia was arrested. Later, Sanjay Singh was arrested, and now, Arvind Kejriwal, a sitting chief minister, has been arrested,” she pointed out.
She further alleged that as the Lok Sabha elections are approaching, the BJP is planning to arrest four more leaders from the AAP in the next two months before polls. “Besides me, they would arrest Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, and Raghav Chadha. The BJP had expected the AAP to disintegrate after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, and its morale to come down since all its top leadership would be in jail, but this did not happen,” she contended.
“After the rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, where lakhs of people from Delhi and across the country turned up in support of the injustice, the BJP feels arresting the four leaders of AAP won’t be enough. Hence it’s the turn of four more leaders to be arrested and sent to jail,” she said.
Atishi claimed that she had been informed that in the coming days, there would be a raid by the ED at her residence. “Not only at my house but there will also be raids by the ED at the homes of my relatives and family members. After that, the summons will be sent to all of us, and we will be arrested,” she anticipated.
“I want to tell the BJP that we are not afraid of their threats. We are soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal, disciples of Bhagat Singh. We will fight till our last breath to protect the constitution of the country and to provide a better life to the people of this country. Whether BJP puts one MLA or worker of the Aam Aadmi Party in jail, 10 more people will come forward to fight Arvind Kejriwal’s battle and defeat BJP,” she added.
