Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in a 10-minute video released on YouTube on Wednesday, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the "mastermind" behind the arrest of his party MLAs and alleged that the PM and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could also get him killed in the coming days.
The statement was released following the Income Tax Department's raid at the house of his party MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar on Wednesday.
Following the arrest of 10 AAP MLAs on various charges, Kejriwal also warned party members that the coming days could be "very ugly" and that the party would have to be prepared to make the "ultimate sacrifice".
"This is a very critical time... In the days ahead, this oppression is going to get very ugly... They can get us killed. They can get me killed as well. Talk to your families... It is clear now that everyone will have to go to jail many times. Along with jail, anything can happen to you. If you are ready, then stay with us. If you are not ready, there is some weakness in your mind, then leave all this for a few days," he said.
"I want to understand this. The IT, CBI, Delhi Police, ACB are all after us. There has to be a mastermind above them all. Who is this mastermind? Is it Amit Shah or Modiji or PMO? They are all together. Amit Shah is doing it on Modiji's instructions... But it is all happening from there," the Delhi CM added.
Kejriwal also claimed that PM Modi is not "thinking logically" and is taking decisions "without thinking, and in anger."
"Insiders tell me that Modiji is very angry and agitated. He is not thinking logically. Arresting one MLA after another everyday has no logic... If the king of a country starts taking decisions in anger, it is a very dangerous thing... If the PM takes decisions in anger, then we don't know how many decisions he is taking like that," the AAP chief said.
Kejriwal also raised doubts over the PM's ability to run the country.
"Is the country in safe hands?... Every section of the society is upset. They left no stone unturned in crushing the AAP... but they could not crush our spirit... The BJP has failed on every front. It has not delivered a single thing in its election manifesto," he said.
BJP responded by saying that Kejriwal's statements are "nothing but the reflection of his utter frustration after total exposure of his immoral politics during recent days." Delhi BJP president Satish Upadhyay was quoted by the Indian Express as saying, "It seems he is looking forward to higher security cover." He added that the CM was "frustrated with scams, frauds and cases of misconduct with women by his ministers and MLAs".
BJP spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao also lashed out at Kejriwal saying that he, and not the Prime Minister, was frustrated. "He is frustrated by his own incompetence in governing Delhi and lack of results on the ground. He is frustrated by the criminal actions of his own party MLAs," Rao said.
