Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking if the BJP’s rule on age of retirement also applied to Modi as it did for saffron party stalwart leader LK Advani.

In his first ‘Janta ki Adalat’ public meeting at Jantar Mantar following his resignation as Delhi Chief Minister, asked the RSS if it agreed with the BJP’s politics of using central agencies to break up parties and topple Opposition governments, and inducting corrupt leaders into its fold.

In his series of questions to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, the AAP convener questioned RSS chief if he agreed with the BJP’s politics of calling politicians corrupt and then inducting them into its fold.

In another question, he asked Bhagwat how he felt when BJP chief JP Nadda said his party did not need the RSS, which is the saffron party’s ideological mentor.

Released on bail from Tihar jail on September 13 after over five months in prison in connection with the excise policy case, Kejriwal asserted that he joined politics to serve the country and not for any greed for power or post.

The former Chief Minister also said that he resigned because he was hurt by the corruption allegations against him and added that he had only earned respect, not money, during the past 10 years.

He said the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls would be an “agni pariksha” for him and urged people not to vote for him if they thought he was dishonest.

The AAP supremo added he would move out of the Chief Minister’s official residence after the “shraddh” period during Navratri and go live among the people, who had been offering him accommodation.

Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, speaking at the same event, said that attempts were made to turn him against the Chief Minister and party colleague Arvind Kejriwal after his arrest in a corruption case linked to the now-scrapped liquor policy in the national capital.

“The BJP wanted to break my and Kejriwal friendship, but they could not do that. If Ram ji and Lakshman ji had ever been separated in Ramayana and met again, they would have met like we both met on September 13 after Kejriwal ji came out of jail,“ the former Deputy Chief Minister said at a party event Janata ki Adalat.

The United States has handed over 297 antiquities, which were smuggled out of India, during the ongoing visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an official statement said on Sunday.

The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to President Joe Biden and the US Government for ensuring the return of 297 invaluable antiquities to India.

Deepening cultural connect and strengthening the fight against illicit trafficking of cultural properties, Modi said in a social media post on X.

Thanking President Biden for his support in returning these artefacts, PM Modi noted that these objects were not just part of India’s historical material culture, but formed the inner core of its civilisation and consciousness.

Official sources said illicit trafficking of cultural property is a longstanding issue that has affected many cultures and countries throughout history, and India has been particularly hit, PTI reported.

With this, the total number of ancient items recovered by India since 2014 has gone to 640, officials said, adding the number returned from the USA alone will be 578. This is the maximum number of cultural artefacts any country returns to India.

Some of the notable antiquities handed over to India include an ‘apsara’ in sandstone from central India belonging to the 10-11th century CE, a Jain Tirthankar in bronze belonging to the 15-16th century CE, a terracotta vase from eastern India belonging to 3-4th century CE, and a stone sculpture from South India belonging to 1st century BCE-1st century CE.

Other prominent items include Lord Ganesh in bronze from south India belonging to the 17-18th century CE, standing Lord Buddha in sandstone from north India from the 15-16th century CE, and Lord Vishnu in bronze from Eastern India belonging to the 17-18th century CE.

Apart from the current visit, Modi’s earlier visits to the USA have also been particularly fruitful in terms of returning antiquities to India.

Officials said during his visit to the US in 2021, 157 antiquities were handed over by the US government, including the exquisite bronze Nataraja statue from the 12th century CE. Also, a few days after his US visit in 2023, 105 antiquities were returned to India.

Defending his remarks pertaining to Sikh community and other sections of Indian society made during a speech in the United States, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused BJP of spreading lies and making desperate attempts to silence the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

“The BJP has been spreading lies about my remarks in America,” Gandhi said in his social media post while sharing a clip of the speech he made in the US on X.

The former Congress chief said, “I want to ask every Sikh brother and sister in India and abroad – is there anything wrong in what I have said? Shouldn’t India be a country where every Sikh – and every Indian – can freely practice their religion without fear?”

As usual, the BJP is resorting to lies, Gandhi said. He said the BJP is desperate to silence him because they cannot stand the truth. “But I will always speak up for the values that define India: our unity in diversity, equality, and love,” he added.

In his remarks at a gathering in Washington, D.C. earlier this month on September 10, Gandhi emphasised that the fight is about whether a Sikh is permitted to wear a turban in India, whether a Sikh can wear a kara in India, and whether a Sikh has the right to go to Gurdwara. This applies to all religions, and that’s what the fight is about.

Attacking the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha over the statements about the condition of Sikhs in India, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu earlier said if those “manufacturing bombs” were supporting him, he is the “number one terrorist”.

Later on September 19, an FIR was registered at High Grounds Police Station in Bengaluru, Karnataka, based on a complaint by one of the office-bearers of the State Pradesh Congress Committee against Union Minister Bittu for his alleged remarks against Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Gandhi.

Another leader Sanjay Gaikwad, an MLA of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, on September 16, announced a reward of Rs 11 lakh to anyone who will “chops off the tongue” of Gandhi over his statement on reservation in the US.

However, after Shiv Sena MLA remarks, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate slammed Shiv Sena and its ally in Maharashtra, BJP, after Gaikwad’s disgusting remarks against Gandhi.

On September 21, Congress chief Kharge said his party would launch an agitation against threats to Rahul Gandhi.

Kharge also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s failure to take action against leaders of his party who used derogatory remarks against the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha.

“BJP, RSS leaders, including MLAs and MPs, talk about chopping off the tongues of our leaders. Rahul Gandhi is under attack for speaking the truth and an atmosphere of hate is created against him like (it was done against his grandmother) Indira Gandhi,” Kharge said today while addressing a press conference in Jammu.

“Such provocative speeches by the BJP and the RSS are ignored by the Prime Minister, who has failed to rein in these leaders and take action against them because he is frightened of them,” he said.