The tussle between the Delhi government and the Centre took a new turn on Wednesday when Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party convener Arvind Kejriwal blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi after Kejriwal's name appeared in the first information report (FIR) registered against Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal.
Kejriwal's attack on Modi may seem a bit out of place because the complaint filed against Maliwal with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the Delhi Police is by one Barkha Singh Shukla, a former member of the DCW and a Delhi Congress leader.
Then again, this would not be the first time he is accusing the two political rivals of joining hands. Similar allegations levelled by him in 2014 were ridiculed on social media, especially with memes containing the words "sab mile jule hain" (meaning: They are all hand-in-glove).
Delhi ACB chief MK Meena said on Wednesday that Kejriwal's name figured in the FIR because it was also in the original complaint. Shukla, in the complaint filed on 12 August, reportedly accused senior AAP leaders of filling the ranks of the DCW with their associates and also giving them monetary benefits.
Based on the complaint, Maliwal was booked under Sections 409 and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. She was also questioned by the ACB for a couple of hours on Monday morning.
On Wednesday, Kejriwal blamed Modi for including his name in the FIR. "What is my role in this? My role has not been mentioned even once in the FIR," he said.
Kejriwal also said: "CM ka naam aise hi toh nhi aa jata FIR mei. PM ke consent ke bina CM ka naam nahi aata. Zahir hai ki PM ke ishaare pe ki gayi hai." (Translation: "The name of a chief minister cannot be included in an FIR just like that. it requires the consent of the prime minister. It is obvious that this happened at the behest of the prime minister.")
He added: "A special Vidhan Sabha session will be called in a few days to discuss the plot behind the FIR in detail."
