‘Modiji will retire next year... but Kejriwal is here to stay’
Out of jail, Arvind Kejriwal hits the ground running, holding road shows and lobbing loaded questions at BJP
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, out on interim bail till June 1, on Sunday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come clean on whether the 75-year age retirement rule he formulated in 2014 was applicable to him or was only aimed at sending BJP veterans LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi into political exile.
A day after he said the 2024 elections are actually to vote for Amit Shah as Prime Minister as Modi was set to retire, an assertion that the BJP has strongly refuted, Kejriwal said it again. At a press conference on Sunday, Kejriwal said the PM has not clarified the matter.
“It’s obvious for BJP leaders to defend their leader. But I think the PM has not said anything. His party leaders are saying that they will not allow him to retire. That’s their feeling. PM, I think, will not stop that rule from being applied to him. Either let the PM say that the rule will not apply to him, and it was meant for Advani only,” said Kejriwal.
On Saturday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the entire brass of the BJP strongly refuted Kejriwal’s assertion that Shah will become PM after 2025 when Modi retires on turning 75. “Modi will continue to remain Prime Minister for the third term,” said Shah.
KEJIWAL’S ASSERTION
Kejriwal repeated the assertion on Sunday, saying that, in his view, the PM will retire next year on September
Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann during a road show at Moti Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday
17, when he turns 75. The Delhi CM, flanked by his top party leaders at a press meet, reiterated his request to Modi to let the country know who will be his successor after he steps down.
To execute his idea of ‘one leader, one nation’, the PM has sent leaders of opposition parties to jail and ended the political careers of his own party leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Vasundhara Raje, Raman Singh, and Manohar Lal Khattar, the CM, who was jailed in the liquor scam, claimed.
Kejriwal said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will be removed from his post after the general elections. He had said the same thing at a public rally on Saturday, asking the crowds, after Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Vasundhara Raje, Raman Singh, and Manohar Lal Khattar, whose political careers will end in the BJP. “Yogi Adityanath,” the crowd chanted.
“When I asked ‘Janta’ (public), they said the next
number is Yogiji (UP Chief Minister). Yesterday, BJP leaders said that the 75 age cap will not apply to him (PM), but not a single leader said Yogiji will not be removed. So, one thing is now clear: in the next two months, Yogiji will be removed as the Chief Minister of UP,” he claimed.
PLEDGE FOR PEOPLE
The Delhi CM also told media that he is not in the race for a PM from the INDIA bloc but unveiled his national ambitions by releasing ten ‘Kejriwal ki guarantees’ like that of ‘Modi ki guarantees’ as he said he will ensure the AAP’s guarantees are fulfilled if the opposition parties come to power at the Centre.
On whether he has discussed these guarantees with his coalition partners, the AAP convenor stated, “I have not discussed these with our INDIA allies. But I believe no INDIA bloc member will have any problem with these guarantees. I will ensure these are fulfilled,”
the CM remarked.
He listed out some of the earlier promises PM did not deliver, such as ₹15 lakh deposit in every account, 2 crore jobs every year, the implementation of Swaminathan committee on MSP for farmers, doubling of farmers income by 2022, 24x7 power supply in the entire country by 2022, bullet trains to ply by 2022 and 100 smart cities project.
On the contrary, he stated that AAP has delivered promises in Delhi and Punjab on free and 24hour power supply and quality education through government schools and mohallah clinics.
Kejriwal urged people to decide if they want to believe Modi’s guarantees or Kejriwal’s guarantees. “We have fulfilled all guarantees we announced ahead of earlier elections. Modiji will retire next year. There is no clarity on who will fulfil his guarantees after that. But Kejriwal is here to stay, so I will ensure Kejriwal’s guarantees are fulfilled,” he said.