‘Fight is with me, don’t torment my parents’: Kejriwal’s ‘appeal’ to Modi

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a virtual “appeal” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has asked why the latter was “tormenting” his ailing and elderly parents when his beef was with him.

Kejriwal, in the video message posted on social media platform X on Thursday (May 23), claimed that his parents were being targeted to “break” him and said Modi had “crossed all limits” by doing this.

“Crossed all limits”

“I have a message and appeal for Prime Minister Modi. Prime minister ji, you have tried a lot to make me bow and break me. You arrested my MLAs one by one but I did not break. Then you arrested my ministers but you could not make me bow. Then you arrested me, you tried to break me by torturing me in various ways in Tihar (jail) but I did not break,” said the AAP national convener.

“But today you have crossed all limits; you have targeted my ailing and elderly parents to break me. My mother is very sick, she is suffering from many diseases. Modi ji, on March 21, when you arrested me, on the same afternoon she returned from the hospital after being there for a few days,” said Kejriwal, who was arrested in a Delhi excise policy-linked money-laundering case.

“Stop harassing my parents”

Talking about his father, the chief minister said he is 85 years old and cannot even hear properly. “Do you think my parents are guilty? Why are you getting them interrogated by your police? Why are you torturing my elderly and ailing parents? Your fight is with me, stop harassing my parents. God is watching everything,” he charged.

The “interrogation” in question is likely in connection with the alleged assault on AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal at the chief minister’s residence on May 13. While Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar has been arrested in the assault case, Kejriwal has claimed that police would question him and his family members also.

“Waiting for police”

In another tweet posted earlier in the day, he said he was “waiting for the police” with his parents and wife. “Yesterday the police called my parents and asked for time for interrogation. But they have not given any information yet whether they will come or not,” he wrote.

However, news agency PTI reported quoting sources that the Delhi Police may not visit Kejriwal’s residence to question his parents.

On Wednesday evening, too, Kejriwal had tweeted that the police were going to question his elderly and ailing parents the next day.

Reaction to “assault”

In his first reaction on Maliwal’s alleged assault, Kejriwal on Wednesday said he expects a fair investigation into the matter and that justice should be served in the case. In an interview to PTI, he said the matter is currently “sub-judice” and his comment might affect the proceedings.

Reacting to his comment, Maliwal said irony died a thousand deaths that Kejriwal was asking for a free and fair probe after “assassinating her character”.

(With agency inputs)