New Delhi, February 27 – Former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in his first press conference after receiving a clean chit in the ‘Liquorgate’ case, launched a direct attack on the BJP, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Home Minister Amit Shah, accusing them of conspiring to eliminate the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
He also demanded that the two apologize to the people of Delhi for implicating him and AAP leaders in a false case, and challenged the Centre to hold fresh Assembly elections to “gauge the public sentiment and anger”.
Kejriwal, accompanied by close aides and top AAP functionaries including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and others, also thanked the judges and the legal fraternity for upholding the rule of law and "showing resilience in times of extreme adversity".
He informed the press that his party would soon approach higher courts to challenge the ED case against him, as this was not supported by the CBI case, which had been dismissed by the Rouse Avenue court.
The AAP chief, addressing the media at the party's office, said that he, Sisodia, and other AAP leaders were framed in a false, fabricated, and entirely bogus case, which did not stand legal scrutiny and therefore failed at the trial stage.
"The court said that there wasn't sufficient evidence and material to begin a trial in the case. In its 600-page order, the court stated, in no uncertain terms, that there could be no trial as there was no sufficient substance or ground for proceeding," he told the media.
Launching a scathing attack on the Centre, he said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who hatched this conspiracy to eliminate and destroy AAP.
"This was the most sinister and wicked conspiracy by them to get us out of power," he stated, while accusing the Centre of using central agencies like CBI and ED to harass them for the past four years.
The AAP leader, emphasizing his high standards of honesty and integrity, said that he had earned nothing in life other than respect, and he was maliciously targeted by the BJP for political advantage.
He said that the Centre, in its desperation for power, had sent as many as five top leaders of his party to jail, adding, "Today's court decision clearly establishes that Kejriwal and AAP functionaries, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and others, are 'extremely honest'."
The AAP founder held the BJP responsible for misgovernance, the sorry state of affairs in the capital, and demanded that the ruling party, under the PM-HM duo, focus on improving governance rather than mudslinging, as that could be "the only way to defeat Kejriwal".
Kejriwal also issued an electoral challenge to the Prime Minister, stating that if polls were held today, he would see the public anger arising from their malice and spiteful governance.
"You won't get more than 10 seats," Kejriwal predicted, forecasting a major defeat for the BJP.
Responding to questions about the Congress seeing a clean chit for Kejriwal and his associates as a conspiracy, he asked why no Congress leader, including Rahul Gandhi or Robert Vadra, had been arrested.