Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Discusses Delhi Riots With Prime Minister Modi, Says 'Don't Spare Accused'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament Complex on Tuesday. It was the first instance of Kejriwal meeting PM Modi after coming to power in Delhi for third time. The meeting came a week after the worst communal riots that the National Capital saw since 1984. After the meeting, Kejriwal told reporters that the two leaders did discuss the communal violence in North-East Delhi. Kejriwal said that he has sought the Centre’s help in rebuilding the riot-torn Delhi. “I told him that whoever is found guilty for Delhi violence should be given strictest punishment,” Kejriwal said. “We also discussed that we have to work together against coronavirus outbreak,” the Chief Minister added.

Prior to this meeting, Kejriwal had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a high-profile emergency meeting on February 26. This was also the first time that both leaders came face-to-face after pitched battle in the Delhi Assembly Elections. During the high-octane poll campaign, PM Modi had repeatedly attacked Kejriwal for supporting ‘tukde tukde gang’, anti-CAA protesters. PM Modi had also said that Kejriwal had failed to fulfil promises made to the Delhi voters.

"People of the country got a Lokpal, but the people of Delhi are still waiting for a Lokpal. There was such a big movement, such tall claims, what happened to them all," PM Modi had asked during a rally in Karkardooma on February 4 last month. It was in this rally that PM Modi had said that people must decide whether the anti-CAA protests are ‘sanyog’ (coincidence) or prayog (experiment). "Be it Seelampur, Jamia or Shaheen Bagh, protests held over the past several days regarding the Citizenship Amendment Bill. Is this just a coincidence? No. This is an experiment. There is a political design behind this which has plans to destroy harmony in the country," he had said. On his part, Kejriwal had attacked the Centre and the BJP over Delhi statehood issue.

Last month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) returned to power in Delhi with a thumping majority by winning 62 of the 70 Assembly seats that went to polls on February 8. The BJP had failed to touch double digit and won just eight seats. The Congress could not even open its account. According to the final Delhi Assembly election results released by the Election Commission, Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP bagged 62 seats with a voting percentage of 53.57, while the BJP got eight seats with a vote share of 38.51 per cent. The Congress drew a blank for the second successive Assembly elections in the national capital and its vote share shrunk to mere 4.26 per cent.

(With agency inputs)