Arvind Kejriwal, AAP national convenor, has written a letter to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat seeking answers to some questions on the BJP's politics.
In the letter, Kejriwal has asked questions like: Does RSS support whatever wrong BJP has done in the past few days? Do BJP leaders open money distribution for vote buying, does RSS support? Dalit and Purvanchali votes (from the voter list) are being cut on a large scale. Does RSS think this is good for democracy? Doesn't RSS feel that the BJP is weakening democracy?
The former Chief Minister of Delhi had on 29 December mounted a blistering attack on the BJP, accusing it of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and said that 'Operation Lotus' was on since December 15 in his Assembly constituency as well. The voter deletion problem in the Shahdara constituency, where allegedly the BJP filed applications to have 11,008 voters removed.
Kejriwal also claimed that "Operation Lotus" started in his own constituency of New Delhi on December 15. "In 15 days, they submitted applications to delete 5,000 voters and add 7,500. My constituency has 1,06,000 voters, so they are trying to delete 5 per cent and add 7.5 per cent. If 12 per cent of the votes are manipulated, what's the point of elections? This is blatant tampering in the name of democracy.
The BJP rejected this, saying the AAP had included illegal Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in the voter list. "We openly state that you have added 8,000 to 10,000 illegal votes per constituency. In houses where five people live, you've registered up to 50 fake votes. We will remove every single one of these illegal votes," BJP spokesperson Manjinder Singh Sirsa had said in response.
The BJP leader accused AAP of harbouring and supporting infiltrators for political gain. "You've settled infiltrators here, given them Rs 10,000 per month, free ration, and even shelter in tents…Now, when their votes are being removed, you are in distress. Let me make it clear, no Rohingya or Bangladeshi infiltrator will be allowed to vote in Delhi," Sirsa said.
This is not the first time Kejriwal has written to the RSS chief. He wrote a similar letter in September 2024 asking five questions related to the BJP and its leadership.
Concerned Kejriwal said that the direction in which the Centre headed by BJP was taking the country along with its politics was poisonous to India. He also raised several questions regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his political party BJP's actions.
Among the five key questions posed, Kejriwal asked whether the BJP’s age limit for retirement, which has been applied to veteran leaders like L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi, also applies to PM Modi. He questioned whether PM Modi would step down when he reached the age of 75.
The AAP chief also raised the question of alleged misuse of central agencies like ED and CBI to "destabilise opposition-led governments". Kejriwal questioned if this is what the RSS wants. He also drew attention to BJP President J.P. Nadda's statement during the Lok Sabha elections, where he reportedly said that the BJP does not need the RSS. Kejriwal asked Bhagwat what his reaction was to this.
In the 2024 letter, Kejriwal said the RSS is the mother organisation of the BJP and it is the responsibility of RSS to bring the party on the right path.
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