Sunita Kejriwal Reads Out Jailed Husband's Statement, Backdrop Raises Brows

In his message, Mr Kejriwal said no person in Delhi should have to suffer because he is in jail.

New Delhi:

When Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, delivered another message from the jailed chief minister to the people of Delhi on Thursday, what stood out was the background in her video statement. In all her addresses so far, the backdrop had portraits of legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and the Father of the Indian Constitution, BR Ambedkar, but there was a new addition between them in the latest video – a picture of Arvind Kejriwal with bars in front of him to signify his imprisonment.

“Mr Kejriwal has sent a message to all of you from jail: ‘I am in prison but no person in Delhi should have to suffer because of that. Every MLA should visit their constituencies every day and ask people if they are facing any problems. They should sort those problems out. I am not just talking about solving problems related to the government, we should attempt to solve their other problems too. The 2 crore people of Delhi are my family. No one should be unhappy. God bless them all. Jai Hind,'” Ms Kejriwal said in Hindi. 

जेल से CM @ArvindKejriwal जी का अपने सभी विधायकों के लिए संदेश। Smt. @KejriwalSunita Addressing an Important Press Conference l LIVE https://t.co/kCINkxUTza

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 4, 2024

The photo of the AAP chief in the message was also noted by the BJP, which accused Mr Kejriwal of attempting to mislead the people of Delhi. 

“It is very regrettable that the portrait of a corrupt person, Arvind Kejriwal, was hanging between those of Bhagat Singh ji and Babasaheb Ambedkar ji. Earlier, the husband used to lie in front of the camera. Now that he is in jail, he is making his wife lie. The public is not going to be misled by the AAP,” BJP Delhi President Virendra Sachdeva posted in Hindi on X.

After Mr Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case on March 21, his wife has been delivering messages from him to the people of Delhi and also during the ‘Save Democracy’ rally on Sunday, which was a show of strength by the opposition INDIA bloc. 

In his first message two days after his arrest, Mr Kejriwal had said, “There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. There is no jail that can keep him behind bars for long. I will come out soon and keep my promises.”

During Sunday’s rally, the chief minister’s wife had read out his six guarantees to the people of Delhi ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and said the people of India were standing with her jailed husband. 

The AAP chief has been sent to judicial custody till April 15, and the Delhi High Court is hearing a petition filed by him against his arrest. The court had reserved its judgment in the case on Wednesday. 

In a separate hearing seeking Mr Kejriwal’s removal as the chief minister after his arrest, a bench of the high court dismissed the petition on Thursday and said that democracy should take its own course.