New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs on Wednesday criticised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convener Arvind Kejriwal, saying he has “insulted” the Constitution. The reaction followed the AAP chief’s statement conveying his alleged lack of trust in Delhi High Court judge Swarana Kanta Sharma where he also spoke about following Mahatma Gandhi’s path of ‘Satyagraha’.
Previously, in a letter addressed to Delhi High Court judge Swarana Kanta Sharma, Kejriwal had stated that he would neither appear before her personally nor be represented by legal counsel in proceedings related to the Delhi Excise Policy case.
Hitting out at the AAP chief, BJP MP Yogender Chandolia said: “Arvind Kejriwal has insulted India’s Constitution. Action should be taken against him and he should be arrested.”
Referring to the AAP leaders’ arrest in the liquor policy case, BJP MP Harsh Malhotra alleged that today those people are talking about Satyagraha who had spoken about opening a liquor shop in every neighbourhood.
“Kejriwal and his team should be ashamed that they went to Rajghat and talked about taking the path of Satyagraha, despite the fact that Gandhiji was against liquor,” he told IANS.
Further, he said: “Kejriwal and his team are accused in the liquor policy case. That is why they think that they will also oppose the court. They are doing all these things to hide their sins.”
BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal alleged that Arvind Kejriwal, being the litigant, wants to decide the judge by himself. “The judiciary does not function like that,” he said.
BJP MP Swati Maliwal also lashed out at the AAP chief.
“What kind of Satyagraha is this – where he says, ‘I am not a thief, and I do not want this judge.’ This is anarchy. Such behaviour should not be engaged in politics,” she told IANS.
She added that Justice Sharma is a woman judge in a country where there are so few women judges.
“She would have reached that position through her own struggles and they are defaming her,” Maliwal claimed.
Significantly, Kejriwal’s letter stated: “My hope of getting justice from Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma is shattered. Therefore, I have decided to follow Gandhiji’s Satyagraha. I have made a decision based on the voice of my conscience. I will reserve the right to appeal Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma’s decision in the Supreme Court.”
The development had come days after Justice Sharma had rejected Kejriwal’s plea seeking her recusal from hearing matters connected to the alleged Delhi Excise Policy case.
After Kejriwal, former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia, has also written a letter to the Delhi High Court judge expressing his reservations.
(IANS)
