Hoshiarpur: As the former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal headed to Punjab for ten-day Vipassana meditation retreat, the BJP, as well as AAP MP Swati Maliwal, pointed to alleged abuse of government machinery and misuse of public funds. They called out the AAP supremo, accusing him of promoting “VIP culture” and deploying state machinery for his own luxuries.
Kejriwal’s ten-day Vipassana in Punjab’s Hoshiarpur assumes significance as this comes just a month after AAP rout in Delhi Assembly elections. The AAP chief is set to participate in Vipassana/meditation sessions from March 5 to March 15.
The controversy erupted over his “grand security parade” in the state, at the cost of public money, as the “lavish convoy” included ambulances and fire brigades and luxurious cars following him to the Vipassana centre.
Former DCW chief Swati Maliwal shared the video of Kejriwal convoy and asked “whom he is fearing from?”
“Kejriwal who criticised VIP culture is roaming around with a security cover bigger than Donald Trump. A great state like Punjab has been turned into means of achieving their own luxuries,” Maliwal wrote in a post on X.
Delhi Minister and BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also slammed the AAP chief over “maharaja style treatment” in Punjab and asked what purpose does it serve when he was going to Vipassana, the retreat where one is expected to practice self-isolation.
He also claimed that luxurious and expensive cars including Land Cruisers were part of his convoy while Punjab police commandos provided him security.
Sirsa further said that AAP stands exposed now and its real face has come in the open. He also claimed that more than fifty large vehicles accompanied Kejriwal to the meditation centre, with Land Cruisers worth Rs 2 crore in his convoy.
“Arvind Kejriwal, who once pretended to be a common man in a WagonR, now moves in a lavish convoy of bulletproof Land Cruisers, 100+ Punjab Police commandos, jammers & ambulances — like a VIP Maharaja all for Vipassana, a retreat meant for peace! If power was his test, he has failed miserably,” he said in a post on X.
He also questioned the Punjab government’s funding of the security parade for Kejriwal’s ‘Vipassana’
“What kind of ‘Vipassana’ requires a grand security parade funded by Punjab taxpayers? Even CM Bhagwant Mann isn’t in the convoy!”, he stated.
Kejriwal’s mediation break in Punjab comes at a time, when there are growing speculations about his entry to Rajya Sabha from the state. Also, the rumours of internal upheaval in party’s Punjab unit continues to surface, time to time, though it has been outrightly denied by the party.
Kejriwal’s 10-day visit to the state may be timed to address these internal challenges and prepare the stage for rebuilding the party, after the Delhi debacle, say political experts.
