Modi will retire when he is 75, make Shah PM: Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: In his first speech after being released from jail, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to "politically finish off the Opposition leaders" and "marginalise those BJP leaders who pose a threat to him".

He also said that Modi is asking for votes for Union Home Minister Amit Shah, claiming that the latter will be Modi's successor after he "retires" on turning 75.

"The BJP leaders ask the I.N.D.I.A. bloc about our PM's face. I am asking the BJP who will be their PM. Modi Ji is turning 75 on September 17 next year. He had made the rule that people aged 75 will be retired. They retired Advani, Joshi, Mahajan," said Kejriwal, adding that "Modi will retire next year. He is seeking votes to make Shah the Prime Minister. Will Shah fulfil Modi Ji's guarantee?" he asked.

"The Prime Minister has launched a dangerous mission. This mission is called one nation, one leader. Modi Ji wants to finish off all the leaders in the country. It is being run at two levels — all the Opposition leaders will be sent to jail and the BJP leaders will be politically finished," alleged the Delhi Chief Minister.

"This one nation, one leader is a dictatorship and only one dictator will remain in the country... If they win the elections, they won't leave any BJP leaders. They finished L.K. Advani, Murli Manohar Joshi and Sumitra Mahajan politically. They finished the politics of Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who won the Madhya Pradesh polls for them, but they did not appoint him CM. They also politically finished Vasundhara Raje, Manohar Lal Khattar and Raman Singh," the AAP supremo charged and claimed that “the next in line is Yogi Adityanath”.

Explaining why he did not resign, Kejriwal said, "The Chief Minister's post is not important to me. I did not step down because a conspiracy was hatched to force me to resign on a fake case."

He also alleged that "the Prime Minister left no stone unturned to crush the AAP by sending its four top leaders to prison.

Later in the evening, the Delhi Chief Minister also held two roadshows with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in South Delhi and East Delhi. According to AAP, Kejriwal has called a meeting of all party MLAs on Sunday to discuss the Lok Sabha polls' strategy at his official residence.

Matching the BJP's Hindutva politics, Kejriwal and Mann also offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place on Saturday morning before addressing a gathering at the party headquarters. In his address, Kejriwal launched a blistering attack on the Prime Minister, alleging that he is on a "one nation, one leader" mission. The Delhi CM claimed that the Prime Minister wants to impose "dictatorship" by putting all the Opposition leaders behind bars and "politically finishing off" those in the BJP.

"They thought that the party will be finished. But the AAP is not just a party, it is a thought. The more they destroy, the more our party will progress," he asserted.

"If the Prime Minister wants to learn about fighting corruption, he should learn from Arvind Kejriwal. We sent the corrupt to jail and even our own ministers," He said.

Later in the evening, seeking votes for AAP candidates at roadshows in Mehrauli and Krishna Nagar in South Delhi and East Delhi constituencies, Mr Kejriwal said, "I am fighting against dictatorship with all my power. I need your support. The country never accepted any dictators and people removed them. I have come to seek your support to fight the dictatorship."

He claimed: "They (the BJP) are losing seats everywhere, be it Karnataka or Haryana. In Punjab, they will not win anything. Even in Delhi, all the seven seats will be won by the INDIA bloc."