Kejriwal accuses BJP of hooliganism, seeks special observers in constituency

New Delhi, Feb 2: Days ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday demanded that the Election Commission deploy special observers in his New Delhi constituency, alleging “hooliganism” by the BJP.
The BJP hit back at Kejriwal, saying that he has sensed defeat in the February 5 elections and it has impacted his “language and mental condition”.
The former chief minister is pitted against BJP’s Parvesh Verma and Sandeep Dikshit of the Congress in a triangular contest in the New Delhi constituency.
In a press conference, Kejriwal asserted that with just three days remaining for the polls, a storm of support for the AAP is sweeping across Delhi and the party is headed to a “historic victory”.
“In this desperate situation, the BJP is baffled. Specially, Amit Shah is very much rattled and maddened. The kind of hooliganism he has spread in Delhi has not been seen by the people earlier,” Kejriwal charged.
BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra hit back at Kejriwal, saying the AAP chief “is losing the polls and now abusing and calling the home minister mad”.
“This is nothing but his frustration of an imminent defeat,” he said.
Those calling Shah “mad” are scared of defeat, Patra said asserting that the BJP survey reveals that the party is coming to power in Delhi with a “massive mandate”.
“Kejriwal himself and Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, and Manish Sisodia are losing their elections. Kejriwal knows this and it has impacted his language and mental condition,” claimed the BJP spokesperson.
Meanwhile, in a complaint to the chief election commissioner, Kejriwal cited various instances of attack, threat and intimidation of AAP volunteers and supporters allegedly by the BJP. He also alleged that the Delhi Police too was intimidating AAP workers at BJP’s behest.
No immediate reaction was available from the Delhi Police over his charges.
“We fear our volunteers may be detained, threatened, or even assaulted on poll eve and election day? to cripple our election operations by preventing our volunteers from working,” he charged in his letter.
He demanded the CEC for deploying special election observers in New Delhi to monitor police activity on night before the polling day and prevent any unlawful detentions.
He also demanded direction to police to allow AAP volunteers to work freely and protection to them by any agency other than Delhi Police. He also sought action against police officers and BJP workers involved in threatening, attacking party workers.
In response to the alleged threats, Kejriwal announced the launch of a new social media campaign with hashtag ‘AmitShahKiGoondagardi’ on X.
He urged people to share their experiences of being “attacked, threatened, or intimidated” using the hashtag.
“The BJP has no vision for Delhi, no chief ministerial candidate, no development agenda. All they have is hooliganism. They want to win through fear, not votes,” Kejriwal claimed, as he urged Delhiites to unite against the BJP to ensure the safety and democratic integrity of the city. (PTI)