Arvind Kejriwal to face consequences for ‘irresponsible behaviour’: BJP

BJP warns Kejriwal of consequences for defamatory allegations against Modi; Supreme Court clears way for trial.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (October 22, 2024) said that former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would have to suffer the consequences of making defamatory allegations against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational qualifications.

The Supreme Court on Monday (October 21, 2024) dismissed Mr. Kejriwal’s plea to quash summons and cleared the way for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader to face trial in a defamation case. A Gujarat metropolitan court has summoned Mr. Kejriwal and the AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in a defamation case over their alleged “sarcastic” and “derogatory” statements related to Mr. Modi’s educational degrees.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP’s national headquarters in New Delhi, Lok Sabha MP and party spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed that Mr. Kejriwal’s conduct towards Mr. Modi had been “utterly irresponsible”, adding that the kind of “abuses” Mr. Kejriwal had heaped on Mr. Modi “need not be told”.

Mr. Prasad said that Mr. Kejriwal had offered to tender an apology during the hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday, but this had been declined. “He (Mr. Kejriwal) has become an expert in tendering apologies,” Mr. Prasad said, adding that Mr. Kejriwal had “apologised 10 times to different leaders”, including Arun Jaitley, Nitin Gadkari and Kapil Sibal, for his defamatory remarks.

In a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Prasad described the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha as a “companion of Kejriwal”, and said that Mr. Gandhi had also been facing defamation cases, and had tendered apologies in past.

He also remarked on the Opposition party’s criticism of the government as India and China had reached an agreement on patrolling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh. “As far as Rahul Gandhi and Asaduddin Owaisi are concerned, how much they understand the nuances of foreign policy is a matter of larger debate,” Mr. Prasad said.

He said the BJP had no comment to offer other than what the Ministry of External Affairs had already said on the matter.