New Delhi:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today took on his Punjab counterpart, with his party line that Congress’s Amarinder Singh has joined hands with the BJP and is upset that the Aam Aadmi Party government has not converted the nine stadiums in the city to open jails. AAP had earlier said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was upset over the issue. AAP’s Punjab unit has said the Punjab Chief Minister is being controlled by PM Modi.
“The Punjab Chief Minister has made allegations against me that I have passed the black laws in Delhi. How can he do such a low-level politics in this fragile situation? It’s not up to state governments to implement it. Had it been so, why would farmers of the country hold talks with Centre,” Mr Kejriwal was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
“The reason behind Captain Sahab’s allegation is that we did not allow the nine stadiums in Delhi to be converted into jails,” he said. The Centre had plans to put farmers in these stadiums, he said. adding, “They are upset with me as I didn’t give permission for making them jails,” added the Chief Minister, whose party is part of the opposition in Punjab.
In a statement on Tuesday, AAP’s Punjab unit said Amarinder Singh and the BJP had “joined hands to make completely false allegations” about the Delhi government passing the farm laws.
The Congress and AAP have been trading barbs after media reports that the Delhi government has notified the farm laws passed by the Centre in the assembly. Many later called it fake news.
Mr Singh, meanwhile, was harsh in his criticism.
“Do they have no shame? They failed to pass any amendment in the Delhi Assembly to negate the central laws, as was done in Punjab. And now they have officially notified the agricultural legislations. The party’s true intent and affiliation has been exposed,” the Punjab Chief Minister said.
Mr Kejriwal, who while closing Delhi to protesters citing Covid, has backed the farmers’ cause.
Last week, he turned down the Delhi Police proposal to turn the city’s stadiums into open jails and declared the protesting farmers who managed to cross the barricades at the borders, were guests of the city.