Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a sharp three-point counterattack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of corruption and branded it AAPa, meaning disaster. Countering PM Modi’s remark, Arvind Kejriwal said that the real disaster lay within the BJP itself.

He said that the disaster is not in Delhi, but it is within the BJP. He continued that the first disaster is that the BJP doesn’t have a Chief Ministerial face. The second is that the BJP has no narrative, and the third is that the BJP has no agenda for the Delhi elections, he claimed.

The war of words erupted after PM Narendra Modi, while inaugurating a housing project for slum dwellers in the national capital, accused the AAP government of a series of alleged scams and corruption.

The Prime Minister said that the AAP has committed a liquor scam, school scam, and pollution scam, and are openly engaging in corruption and even publicising it. He claimed that it is a disaster for Delhi, and the residents have declared war against this disaster.

PM Modi also sought to underline his commitment to the welfare of Delhi’s underprivileged, stating that he could have built a sheeshmahal, but his dream is that his countrymen should get permanent houses.

Taking a dig at PM Modi’s reference to a sheeshmahal, Arvind Kejriwal said that mention of a sheeshmahal doesn’t sound appropriate coming from someone who built a house worth Rs 2,700 crore for himself, flies on a plane worth Rs 8,400 crore, and wears suits worth Rs 10 lakh.

The former Chief Minister further dealt blows to the BJP for failing to deliver on promises made to Delhi residents. He highlighted that the BJP’s 2020 manifesto had assured pucca houses for all in Delhi by 2022. Nonetheless, only 4,700 homes had been handed over in five years, he added.

Arvind Kejriwal noted that in 2020, the Prime Minister promised homes for everyone in Delhi by 2022, and in 2025, he has handed over keys to 1,700 homes and previously gave keys to 3,000 houses in Kalkaji. He showed a grim picture of the housing crisis in Delhi, mentioning that Delhi has 4 lakh slums, and 15 lakh people need homes. It seems BJP’s manifesto was meant for 200 years, not five, he said.

While accusing the Prime Minister of abusing the Delhi government for 39 minutes out of his 43-minute speech in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal said even three hours wouldn’t be enough if he started listing the development work his party has carried out in Delhi in the last 10 years. 

The Ministry of External Affairs today rejected a US media report claiming India’s involvement in a failed plot by the Maldivian opposition to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu. In the weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal accused The Washington Post of nursing a compulsive hostility towards India.

He said that both the newspaper and the reporter in question appear to nurse a compulsive hostility towards India. He added that one can judge the credibility of the report, if they see a pattern in the activities. As far as MEA are concerned, they have none, he continued.

The media report, based on an internal document titled, Democratic Renewal Initiative, asserted that the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) allegedly sought USD 6 million from India to oust Mohamed Muizzu.

Reportedly, the opposition planned to bribe around 40 MPs, including some from Muizzu’s own party, to garner votes for his impeachment. Nonetheless, it failed to materialise.

The development followed at a time when Maldives’s ties with India came under strain after some leaders from Muizzu’s Cabinet made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. President Muizzu, who came to power based on an India Out campaign, also made India withdraw its troops from the country.

In addition, the MEA spokesperson also dismissed another Washington Post report that accused India of carrying out covert assassination campaigns in Pakistan. Without specifying the matter and quoting Hillary Clinton, spokesperson Jaiswal said as regards Pakistan, one cannot keep snakes in their backyard and expect them only to bite their neighbours.

Hillary Clinton made the statement in 2011 when she visited Pakistan as the US Secretary of State. With then Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar by her side, Clinton demanded greater cooperation from the country to eliminate terrorists and squeeze the Haqqani network responsible for attacks in Afghanistan.

PM Narendra Modi on Friday slammed AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged lavish renovation of the Chief Minister’s residence, noting while he had provided housing for four crore people, he had not built a sheeshmahal. The Prime Minister also accused the Delhi government of corruption and neglecting the city’s infrastructure, and termed the ruling party as AAPda, meaning disaster.

While launching a housing project for slum dwellers in the national capital, Narendra Modi said that he could have built a sheeshmahal, but for him, his dream was that his countrymen should get permanent houses. He said that the country knows well that Modi has never built a house for himself. However, in the last 10 years, over four crore homes have been built for the poor, fulfilling their dreams, he continued.

The Prime Minister’s remarks were in reference to the claims that Arvind Kejriwal spent approximately Rs 45 crore on the renovation of his official residence while as Chief Minister, which included lavish expenses such as Rs 1 crore on curtains and Rs 6 crore on flooring.

Continuing his attack on AAP, the PM said that the party has committed a liquor scam, school scam, and pollution scam, and are openly engaging in corruption and even publicising it. He mentioned that it is a disaster for Delhi, and the residents have declared war against this disaster.

While addressing an event in Ashok Vihar, PM Modi asserted that Delhi is saying in unison, Aapda Ko Nahi Sahenge, Badal Kar Rahenge, meaning they will not tolerate the disaster, and will change it.  He also said that the situation in the national capital would worsen if the AAP’s reign continued and stressed that the Centre is making a lot of efforts to raise the living standards of people in Delhi. He claimed that the year 2025 will give a new direction to good governance in the national capital with new politics of public welfare and national welfare.

PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a slew of development projects, including 1,675 flats for residents of jhuggi-jhopri (slum clusters) and two urban redevelopment projects in the city.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Atishi said that the BJP has no agenda for the assembly polls and urged the party to explain what they have done for the city.

She said that the BJP has been in power at the centre for 10 years, and has a budget of lakhs of crores. The party should tell one thing they have done for the people of Delhi, she continued. CM Atishi claimed that they have no vision for Delhi, and have no CM face. 

Reportedly, Delhi is scheduled to hold its assembly elections in all 70 constituencies before February this year.