New Delhi: Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday claimed that the families of martyrs have expressed their “shock and anger” at the BJP for calling Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a “terrorist”.
The AAP, in a statement, said the kin of martyrs said Kejriwal cared for the families of martyrs and by calling him a terrorist, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has insulted their sacrifices.
“Relatives said their families could sustain themselves only due to the Rs 1 crore assistance received from Arvind Kejriwal government,” the party said, adding the people of Delhi are “agitated and extremely upset with the BJP for calling the AAP national convenor a terrorist”.
“The families of martyrs are particularly infuriated and shocked with Home Minister Amit Shah, Parvesh Verma and other leaders of BJP. They have claimed that Kejriwal is the first Chief Minister who has gone out of his way to help the families of those who sacrificed their lives in the service of the nation and its people. And to call such a leader as a ‘terrorist’ is nothing else but an insult of the supreme sacrifice made by their beloved,” the AAP said.
The AAP government has been giving Rs 1 crore financial assistance to the families cope with the loss.
The AAP also released a video of the father of a Delhi Police martyr Amarpal, who recalled how brave his son was, and thanked Kejriwal for taking care of them after their son was no more.
In the video, he said they no longer feel distressed but when he read the personal remarks made against Kejriwal by the BJP in the newspaper calling him a terrorist, he felt “let down”.
He complained that “someone who worked tirelessly for the welfare of the people and the country, how can such a person be called a ‘terrorist’ and this crossed all limits of decency”.
The AAP said everyone considered Kejriwal as their son and “these sentiments will not be shaken by such foul statements”.
In the video, similar views were expressed by Narendra, a resident of Nangloi, whose father was working with Delhi Fire Services before sacrificing his life in 2016.
Narendra also thanked Kejriwal for paying attention to the plight of families of martyrs and come forward to assist them, “which no other government did”.
Anil Kumar Meena, whose father was a head constable in Delhi Police, said his family also received an assistance of Rs 1 crore after his father sacrificed his life in the line of duty.
Meena said he believes that the assistance will go a long way in supporting his family in absence of his father, adding he is particularly respectful of Kejriwal’s simplicity and how he just focuses on making the lives of everyone in Delhi better.
He said he can never believe such a claim.
Ravi, whose father was an ASI in Delhi Police said whether in politics or otherwise, these kinds of personal attacks and vile statements should not be used.
“How can they call a democratically elected Chief Minister as a terrorist? This is wrong and it causes anguish among people. Kejriwal is an educated man, studied at IIT, who has managed to come up with good welfare schemes for the people of Delhi, which are helping people. BJP cannot get away by making such baseless statements against Kejriwal,” Ravi said.
