News Analysis India

Tag: aap

  • BJP, Congress Gear Up For Assembly Elections; Parties Field Candidates For July 10 Bypolls |

    New Delhi: As states are set to conduct by-polls for their assembly seats, on Monday BJP announced the name of the state election in-charge for Maharashtra, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir. Saffron party appointed Bhupender Yadav and Ashwini Vaishnaw as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Maharashtra while Dharmendra Pradhan and Biplab Kumar Dev were appointed as election in charge and co-in-charge for Haryana. 

    BJP released a list of appointed candidates on microblogging site X which also consists the names of Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Hemanta Biswas Sharma as State election in charge and co-in-charge for Jharkhand while  Kiran Reddy was appointed as election in charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

    States are going for by-polls on June 10, the party announced the name of its candidate on Monday. AAP fielded Mohinder Bhagat for by-election to the Jalandhar West Assembly constituency in Punjab while BJP nominated Sheetal Angural for the same constituency.  BJP also announced the names of the candidates contesting for by-polls from the West Bengal assembly constituency — Manas Kumar Ghosh from Raiganj, Manoj Kumar Biswas from Ranaghat Dakshin (SC), Binay Kumar Biswas from Bagda (SC) and Kalyan Chaubey Bhattacharya from Maniktala constituency.

    The Congress party has also approved the names of Dr Pushpendra Verma and Hardeep Singh Bawa to contest in by-polls from Harmirpur and Nalagarh Assembly constituencies in Himachal Pradesh while Lakhpat Butola and Qazi Nizamuddin are going to contest in by-polls from Badrinath and Manglaur Assembly constituencies in Uttarakhand.

  • JD(U) call for Agnipath review correct, scheme withdrawal long overdue: Sanjay Singh

    New Delhi: AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on Thursday said the JD(U)’s demand for review of Agnipath scheme is “100 per cent correct” and stressed that the scheme should have been withdrawn earlier. Earlier in the day, JD(U) leader K C Tyagi told reporters here that the party has demanded a review of the Agnipath scheme, and will “pursue” the caste census issue. Speaking to PTI Videos, Singh said, “Agniveer is betrayal with Mother India and the Army. The prime minister should have withdrawn it earlier.” “Earlier a jawan was trained for a year but under this scheme (Agnipath), you reduced the training period to six months. Every youth is ready to sacrifice his or her life for the country. But you are weakening the army. This demand from JDU is 100 per cent correct,” the AAP leader added. In June 2022, the government rolled out the Agnipath recruitment scheme for short-term induction of personnel with an aim to bring down the age profile of the three armed services. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States The scheme provides for recruiting youths between the age bracket of 17-and-half years and 21 for four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years.

  • AAP alleges Kejriwal weighed thrice in Tihar jail with different machines, not provided cooler

    New Delhi: A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surrendered at the Tihar jail after completion of his interim bail in a money laundering case, the AAP leaders on Monday alleged that he was not provided cooler in his cell in prison and his weight was measured thrice in a “conspiracy”. The Tihar jail authorities refuted the AAP leaders’ claim, saying the chief minister’s weight was taken with one machine only and added that he was not provided cooler because the facility is provided after the court’s order. “The weight of Kejriwal is 63.5 kilogram, which was measured only once when he surrendered on Sunday. There was no problem with the weighing machine. His other vitals, including blood pressure and sugar, are normal,” a senior Tihar jail officer told PTI. In a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi claimed that Kejriwal’s weight was measured with three weighing machines during his medical examination in Tihar on Sunday. She also claimed that at a time when temperature in Delhi is ranging from 48 degrees to 50 degrees, Kejriwal was kept in a cell where not even a cooler was provided. AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States “Coolers are provided to even notorious criminals lodged in Tihar. While the popular Chief Minister Kejriwal has not been given the cooler. I want to ask the BJP and the LG how low will they stoop,” she said. Atishi said that Kejriwal suffered from diabetes for 30 years and his weight was falling since last few months, and alleged cruelty against him. “After he surrendered as a law abiding citizen, he has been kept in a heated cell without a cooler. I want to say to the BJP and the prime minister that not even the people of Delhi but the god also will not forgive them for causing atrocities to Kejriwal,” she said. Atishi also alleged that during his medical examination on Sunday, his weight was measured on three machines that showed different readings.

    His weight was found to be 61 kg and the Tihar officials used another machine that showed his weight to be 64 kg. The Tihar officials not satisfied with it used a third machine that showed his weight to be 66.5 kg, she said.

    “His weight was 70 kg when he was arrested by the ED on March 21 and it went down to 63 kg when he was weighed at home before surrendering on Monday. This shows a drop of 7 kg which is a serious matter yet the ED opposed his bail for medical tests,” she said.

    Atishi said Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj will take note of it because there appears to be a “very big conspiracy” behind this.

    The Tihar jail officer said that on May 10 when Kejriwal was released from jail his weight was 64 kg that was measured using the same machine that was used on Sunday.

    The officer said Kejriwal’s BP was measured 120/76 and sugar level remained at 120 on Monday.

    “Kejriwal is given the insulin twice a day and is under a regular watch of two doctors in the prisons,” the officer said.

    The chief minister talked to his wife Sunita Kejriwal through phone on Monday evening, he said.

    On the question of not providing cooler to the chief minister, the jail official said coolers are given to those inmates, who are unwell and the court orders the authorities to do so.

    AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also in a post on X reiterated the charge that three machines were used to weigh Kejriwal in jail.

    “In the jail, Arvind Kejriwal’s weight was measured thrice with different machines, one showed 61 kg, the second 64 kg, the third 66.5 kg. Whereas when he was weighed at home before leaving, it was 63 kg. What kind of joke is this? LG sahab, please get the machine fixed,” he said in his post.

    Singh also said that Kejriwal was kept in a small cell without any cooler even as temperature was 44 degrees Celsius.

  • Arvind Kejriwal: Kejriwal hugs children, touches parents’ feet before surrendering at Tihar jail after bail ends

    Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his family bid adieu to each other on Sunday before he left the CM’s residence to surrender at Tihar jail after his interim bail in the excise policy case ended on June 1. Kejriwal hugged his children and touched his parents’ feet before leaving in a car for a scheduled visit to the Rajghat and the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place. He waved a final goodbye to his parents before his car sped alongside a long trail of vehicles carrying AAP leaders who accompanied the chief minister for his surrender. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, son Pulkit and daughter Harshita also accompanied him for his surrender. Sharing visuals of the family’s last moments together, the AAP wrote in a post on X, “Bharat Mata’s brave son Arvind Kejriwal ji took blessings from his parents and hugged his children before going to jail to save democracy. Kejriwal will not bow down to dictatorship.” AllUttar PradeshMaharashtraTamil NaduWest BengalBiharKarnatakaAndhra PradeshTelanganaKeralaMadhya PradeshRajasthanDelhiOther States In another post, the party wrote, “It is this feeling that scares the dictator. With a smile on his face, Delhi CM Kejriwal headed towards Rajghat to pay homage to father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Today, Kejriwal ji will go to jail in this fight to save democracy.” In a display of unity and support, Kejriwal’s family and AAP leaders accompanied the chief minister as he paid homage at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at the Rajghat and offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place. PTI

    **EDS: VIDEO GRAB VIA @AamAadmiParty** New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal hugs his son as he leaves from his residence, ahead of his surrender before Tihar jail authorities, in New Delhi. (PTI Photo)(

    Kejriwal later addressed a large gathering of workers and leaders of the AAP before leaving for Tihar jail. AAP leaders, including Atishi, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak, and party leaders Durgesh Pathak, Rakhi Birla and Reena Gupta were also present.

    Patriotic songs and slogans of “Kejriwal Zindabaad” filled the air at the party headquarters.

    Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said, “I am going back to jail not because I was involved in corruption but because I raised voice against dictatorship… I campaigned for the Lok Sabha polls to save the country.”

    Kejriwal said that the BJP will not form the next government at the Centre, saying the exit polls were “fake” and “mind games” by the BJP.

    Several exit polls, which were aired on Saturday evening, predicated a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA. Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls will be held on Tuesday.

    The address at the party headquarters was summed up with the national anthem and Kejriwal left for Tihar amid a sea of Indian flags.

    Minutes before the chief minister’s surrender, security arrangements were beefed up at Tihar jail with heavy police deployment. Traffic was also restricted in the area.

    The chief minister surrendered to the Tihar authorities after 21 days of bail granted by the Supreme Court for the election campaign.

    He was released from prison on May 10 on an interim bail granted by the apex court in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

    The bail expired on June 1, the day the seventh and last phase of the general elections was held.

  • dhruv rathee: ‘Getting rape and death threats’: Swati Maliwal opens up on campaign by AAP, YouTuber Dhruv Rathee

    Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal has opened up about the death and rape threats she has been receiving, following an alleged “character assassination” campaign launched by AAP and she claimed that the situation just got worse when YouTuber Dhruv Rathee released a one-sided video against her on the assault allegations.

    Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Maliwal said that after the leaders and volunteers of AAP orchestrated a campaign of charachter assassination, victim shaming and fanning of emotions against her, she has been getting rape and death threats.

    “This got further exacerbated when YouTuber @Dhruv_Rathee posted a one-sided video against me. As far as the party leadership goes, it is very clear that they are trying to intimidate me into withdrawing my complaint. However, for Dhruv, I tried my best to reach out to him to tell him my version but he ignored my calls and messages,” she further said.(More to come)

  • Lok Sabha Polls 2024: As Delhi Votes Amid Unprecedented Political Scenario, Both BJP, AAP-Congress Confident Of Win |

    The fate of candidates from the seven Lok Sabha seats of Delhi will be sealed in the EVM today. However, this election is very different from the 2014 and 2019 Parliamentary polls. While the BJP and Congress were locked in a direct fight with the Aam Aadmi Party trying their luck in previous polls, this time, the Congress and AAP have joined hands against the saffron party. While Congress is contesting on three seats in the national capital, AAP is contesting on four. 

    The AAP is being led by Arvind Kejriwal who got interim bail from the Supreme Court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls. 

    However, what is confusing to the people is that Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Gandhi did not hold a joint rally and thus many are not aware of the AAP and Congress alliance. Though the parties maintained that the two leaders did not do joint rallies due to date mismatch issue, even Sonia Gandhi did not take Aam Aadmi Party’s name in her appeal to voters. She urged people to vote for the INDIA bloc candidate.

    On the other hand, the BJP has changed six out of the seven candidates this time and has given opportunities to long-time party workers, thus trying to boost the morale of grassroots workers. However, the Congress-AAP claimed that the saffron party was forced to change candidates because the outgoing MPs had not worked in the last five years.

    All India Congress Committee in charge of Delhi and Haryana Deepak Babaria has maintained that both AAP and Congress will win all seven seats in Delhi. He further alleged that in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, there was a lot of manipulation in the results. The BJP has also exuded confidence that it will score a Hat-trick of clean sweep in Delhi.

    This is also the first time that Rahul Gandhi will not vote for Congress but for the Aam Aadmi Party. He is a voter from the New Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. 

  • AAP accused of FCRA violations: ED does everything during the polls so it creates doubt, says Sandeep Dikshit – The Economic Times Video

    The ED has written to Union Home Ministry alleging AAP has received more than Rs 7 crore foreign funds in contravention of FCRA. The Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit has responded to it said, “there was also some news that maybe a few years ago this matter had also gone to court. I don’t have proper knowledge about this matter. If genuinely people have given money and AAP put forward the facts then there is no problem but if it is the case that someone is depositing money in someone else’s name, then an investigation should be done. The problem is that ED does everything during the elections so it creates doubt whether it is genuinely looking at something or doing it in view elections.”

  • Swati Maliwal: ‘Threatened by a goon…’: Swati Maliwal hits back at AAP, as party takes ‘U-Turn’ on ‘Assaultgate’ – The Economic Times Video

    Days after accepting ‘misbehaviour’ by CM Kejriwal’s aide, now AAP takes ‘U-turn’ in Swati Maliwal’s assault case. In a press conference on May 17, AAP alleged the ‘assault’ as BJP’s conspiracy to defame the party. Aam Aadmi Party also declared Swati Maliwal as the BJP’s ‘face and pawn’ of this conspiracy. Reacting to it, Maliwal attacked AAP and said, people who recently joined the party are now calling her a BJP agent. In her recent tweet, she said that the party was being threatened by a ‘goon’, and had taken a “U-turn” on their stand. She further also alleged CCTV at Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s residence was being tampered. Meanwhile, CM Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar also filed a written complaint against Swati Maliwal.

  • Maliwal ‘assault’: Delhi Police team reaches MP’s residence to seek details of incident

    A Delhi Police team reached AAP MP Swati Maliwal’s house on Thursday in connection with the alleged assault on her at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, officials said. Led by an Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) rank officer, the team has gone to the Rajya MP’s residence to seek details of the incident, they said.

    On Monday morning, Maliwal went to the Civil Lines police station here and alleged that a member of Kejriwal’s personal staff “assaulted” her at the chief minister’s official residence, police officials said. Police have not yet received a formal complaint.

    Earlier on Thursday, the National Commission for Women (NCW) summoned Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar over Maliwal’s allegations. His hearing is scheduled for Friday at 11 am. On Tuesday, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh had said that the incident with Maliwal was “highly condemnable”.

  • Swati Maliwal: Swati Maliwal assault case: AAP MP’s ex-husband claims her life under threat, attacks Sanjay Singh – The Economic Times Video

    Amid the alleged assault incident of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal at the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence, Naveen Jaihind, the former husband of Swati Maliwal, called AAP leader Sanjay Singh the “parrot” of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, adding that a case should be lodged against Arvind Kejriwal. Speaking to ANI, Naveen Jaihind on Wednesday alleged that Arvind Kejriwal’s House is not a CM house but is actually a “gutter house.”