NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party has 'only one aim... to finish (off) the Aam Aadmi Party', Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal declared Monday evening.
Kejriwal’s reaction came after AAP's former Gujarat unit chief was arrested by Surat Police over a controversial remark against state home minister Harsh Sanghvi and the ruling BJP's state chief, CR Patil. Kejriwal also claimed the BJP would not rest till it had jailed each member of his party, and that it was driven by fear of the AAP's rising popularity in the state.
"BJP is so shocked by spectacular performance of AAP in Gujarat that it has now arrested our Gujarat leader, Gopal Italia. Now BJP has only one aim... how to finish (off) Aam Aadmi Party. These people will put everyone in jail one by one," Kejriwal tweeted on his Twitter handle.
BJP's IT Cell in-charge Amit Malviya slammed the Delhi chief minister's comments, countering Kejriwal's stinging remark as a 'lie' and pointed to his summons by the Central Bureau of Investigation in connection with the excise policy case.
Soon a war between Kejriwal and Amit Malviya erupted on Twitter, each hitting out at the other, from the ‘insane’ to the ‘inane’.
"After the CBI inquiry, there is such a state of insanity that the man is seeing jail everywhere," Malviya declared.
"BJP is so shocked by spectacular performance of AAP in Gujarat that it has now arrested our Gujarat leader, Gopal Italia. Now BJP has only one aim... how to finish (off) Aam Aadmi Party. These people will put everyone in jail one by one," Kejriwal tweeted.
On Sunday, Malviya gloated after Kejriwal’s questioning by the CBI: "... devastated look on Kejriwal’s face, apprehensive body language and feeble tone and tenor of speech after CBI questioning is a sure sign... sins of his (have) finally caught up… And he knows it."
The AAP made its debut in Gujarat last year after a strong showing in civic body polls in PM Narendra Modi's home state, then widely seen as a bastion for the ruling party.
The party from Delhi secured its first government outside the national capital after a massive win last year over the Congress in Punjab. Then it won five seats in Gujarat and, crucially, nearly 13 per cent of the vote share. This, in addition to wins in Punjab and Delhi, and over six per cent of the votes in Goa, mean Kejriwal's AAP is now on a par with a 'national' party.
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