Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal claimed on Sunday that the BJP is attempting to dismantle the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) through an initiative he referred to as 'Operation Jhaadu'. Kejriwal alleged that the ruling party at the center is trying to stifle AAP's growth to prevent it from becoming a significant challenge.
“Through 'Operation Jhaadu', AAP’s big leaders will be arrested, they are being arrested, and in the coming days, AAP’s bank accounts will be frozen. ED’s lawyer has already given this statement in court that soon after the election AAP’s bank accounts will be frozen,” Kejriwal, the AAP National Convener, stated.
These allegations come as AAP plans a demonstration outside BJP headquarters following the arrest of Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar. Kumar was remanded to five days in police custody in connection with the alleged assault on Swati Maliwal after a late-night court hearing on Saturday. Kejriwal further alleged that post-election, “they will freeze our accounts, clear out our office, and leave us on the streets.”
Kejriwal also criticized the BJP's accusations of a liquor policy scam. “Since I came to power in 2015, how many allegations did they (BJP) raise?… Now they say that a liquor policy scam has happened, and people are asking them if the scam happened, where is the money? In other places when a raid happens, notes and gold are recovered, but here nothing was found. Where is all the money? They (BJP) made fake cases and arrested our people,” he told ANI.
During a press conference on Saturday, Kejriwal accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of targeting AAP leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Sanjay Singh. “They are after our party and sending our leaders to jail one after another… Today you have sent my PA (Bibhav Kumar) to jail,” he said, adding that the BJP plans to jail AAP MP Raghav Chadha and Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj as well. Kejriwal announced, “I along with my MLAs and MPs would go to the BJP office at noon tomorrow so that the prime minister can send anyone he wants to jail.”
In response to the planned protest, the Delhi Police has increased security at the BJP headquarters and issued a traffic advisory. “In view of the proposed protest by a political party at DDU Marg Delhi, Traffic will remain heavy at DDU Marg, IP Marg, Minto Road, and Vikas Marg. DDU Marg may be closed for traffic movement between 11 am to 2 pm. Kindly avoid these roads and plan your journey accordingly,” the traffic police advised via a post on X. A senior police officer confirmed heightened security measures, including deploying additional personnel and barricading the area around the BJP headquarters.
