Sunita Kejriwal Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Thursday (August 15, 2024) that a “dictatorship” can put an elected chief minister in jail but cannot suppress the “patriotism” in his heart.
Ms Kejriwal wrote in a Hindi post on X: “Today the tricolour was not hoisted in front of the Chief Minister’s residence. This is very sad. This dictatorship can keep an elected Chief Minister in jail… but how can it suppress the patriotism in his heart?”
Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said that Mr Kejriwal was accused of false charges in the excise policy issue. In a post on X, she said, “When India was liberated from British rule in 1947, hundreds of freedom fighters were attacked with batons, went to jail and sacrificed their lives to give us that freedom. They could not have imagined even in their dreams that one day in independent India, an elected chief minister would be accused of false charges and kept in jail for months.”
“On this Independence Day, let us swear that we will continue to fight against dictatorship until our last breath,” she added.
Earlier, the AAP government had requested that Education Minister Atishi be allowed to hoist the tricolour in the absence of the chief minister. However, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena nominated Delhi Home Minister Kailash Gahlot and said the Delhi Police would be responsible for the ceremonial march-past after the hoisting of the national flag and police-related matters had been assigned to the Home Ministry under the Distribution of Business Rules, 1993.
Sanjay Singh, a Rajya Sabha member from AAP, also wrote to X: “The campaign to make the country prosperous will continue. Jail cannot break our resolve.” He said the quality of education and health must be improved in India. “Electricity, water and bus fares for mothers and sisters should be free. The Chief Minister who made this dream come true in Delhi is in jail on Independence Day,” Mr Singh said.
