LS polls: Kejriwal snubs ex-Pak minister; says won't tolerate interference by sponsors of terrorism

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday chastised former Pakistan minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain after he called for the defeat of "forces of hate and extremism" in the Lok Sabha elections, saying the polls are India's internal matter and it will not tolerate interference by the "biggest sponsors of terrorism". In the sixth of the seven-phase elections, 58 parliamentary constituencies, including seven in Delhi, went to polls on Saturday.

After casting his vote, Kejriwal, who is the AAP's national convenor, shared a picture on X of his family members showing fingers marked in ink and said he voted against "dictatorship, inflation and unemployment".

Sharing Kejriwal's post on X with the hashtags "MorePower" and "IndiaElection2024", Hussain said, "May peace and harmony defeat forces of hate and extremism."

Minutes after Hussain's post, Kejriwal hit back at him, saying his post was unnecessary.

"Chaudhry Sahib, the people of my country and I are fully capable of handling our issues. Your comment is not needed. The situation in Pakistan is very bad right now. You take care of your country," Kejriwal said on X.

In another post, the chief minister said the elections are India's internal matter and the country will "not tolerate interference by the biggest sponsors of terrorism".

Responding to Kejriwal's posts, Hussain said, "CM sb! Indeed electioneering is your own issue but hope you will appreciate extremism be it in Pakistan or India is a borderless phenomenon and dangerous for everyone be it BD (Bangladesh), India or Pak so everyone with some conscience must be concerned... (sic)."

"The situation in Pakistan is very far from ideal but individuals must strive for a better society wherever they are," he said.

Hitting out at Kejriwal, the BJP alleged that Pakistan has also jumped in support of the AAP leader's politics of corruption.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said his party has been saying that "Kejriwal is hand in glove with the country's enemies".

"Chaudhry Fawad Hussain is speaking now. He had also written a social media post on Kejriwal's release. Five phases of elections have already been conducted but no remarks were made, when polls are now being held in Delhi, the statement from Pakistan has come. This shows Kejriwal has the backing of Pakistan," Sachdeva told reporters.

On May 1, Chaudhry -- infamous for boasting about Pakistan's hand in the 2019 Pulwama terror attack -- had posted on X excerpts from a speech by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with the caption "Rahul on fire". This drew sharp criticism from BJP leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also slammed Gandhi and the Congress, saying Pakistan is desperate to make Gandhi the next prime minister.