‘Sunita Kejriwal preparing to hold Delhi CM post like Rabri Devi’: Hardeep Puri

Union minister and senior BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday compared Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal,  with Rabri Devi, wife of former Bihar chief minister and RJD veteran Lalu Prasad Yadav, hinting that the former is in the line to succeed her husband just like the latter did in Bihar.
“The madam you are naming is perhaps preparing to hold the post like Rabri Devi did in Bihar,” news agency PTI quoted Puri, speaking to the reporters after attending the inauguration ceremony of the Delhi BJP’s election office along with leaders, including Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and Bansuri Swaraj.
The BJP leader further took a dig at Delhi’s CM for forming an alliance with the “most corrupt party” against whom they had started an anti-corruption movement with octogenarian social activist Anna Hazare.
“When he (Arvind Kejriwal) joined politics, saying they were starting a movement against corruption, today, they joined whom? It was the most corrupt party.Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was issued 9 summons, but he did not respond. Leave Arvind Kejriwal, his time is limited…” ANI quoted Puri as saying.
BJP leader Manoj Tiwari also took a dig at AAP asking why only Kejriwal’s wife is coming out in his support, and not the people of Delhi.
“The Honourable Justice of High Court said that they cannot stop his (Arvind Kejriwal’s) arrest and that they are surprised why he hasn’t been arrested yet (till then). Does holding a press conference reduce the crime of a criminal? The question is why only his wife is coming out (in his support), and not the people of Delhi,” he said to PTI.
Besides Puri, Union minister Anurag Thakur earlier hinted that Sunita is taking same route as Rabri Devi to become the CM by addressing the media after Kejriwal’s arrest, similar to what Rabri did.
He said that when Lalu Yadav was arrested in the fodder scam, his wife Rabri Devi began to make announcements and gradually became the chief minister of Bihar. Similarly, Sunita, who has taken on a more public persona since her husband’s arrest, is taking the same route to become the chief minister of Delhi.
Earlier in the day, Sunita Kejriwal launched a WhatsApp campaign, ‘Kejriwal ko Aashirwad, ‘ sharing a WhatsApp number where people can send wishes to the jailed leader. “We are starting a drive from today – Kejriwal ko aashirvaad. You can send your blessings and prayers to Kejriwal on this number,” she said.
In a digital media briefing, Sunita said her husband has challenged the “most corrupt and dictatorial forces” in the country and asked people to support him through their blessings and prayers.
Sunita Kejriwal, a 1994-batch Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer, met Arvind Kejriwal, a 1995-batch IRS officer, during a training programme at Bhopal. She took voluntary retirement from the I-T department in 2016 after serving it for 22 years.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with an alleged money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy. He was issued nine summons by the probe agency but he didn’t appear before the ED. Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court on Thursday extended his ED custody till April 1.