PM watched me in jail through CCTV, I did not break: Kejriwal

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said there were two CCTV cameras inside his Tihar jail cell, footage was being monitored by 13 officials and the live feed was also provided to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), in an interaction with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors at the party headquarters.

Kejriwal said that if the INDIA block wins a majority in the polls on June 4, he would be out of jail on June 5.

“They had installed two CCTV cameras in my cell.. these recordings were played in the offices of 13 officers. These people were continuously monitoring each and everything I was doing. We also learnt that the jail authority also gave the feed of the same to the PMO. (PM Narendra) Modi was monitoring the CCTV camera to keep an eye on my activities. Why? Because he wanted to know if Kejriwal was broken. He wanted to see if depression had set in. I want to tell them that I have the blessings of Hanumanji with me, and Kejriwal is not going to break like this,” he said.

“I don’t know what hatred Modi harbours against me and the AAP that he is hell-bent on crushing the party,” Kejriwal said.

Arvind Kejriwal was lodged in judicial custody at Tihar jail after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Kejriwal was released on interim bail on May 10 by the Supreme Court for the election campaign. Since his release, Kejriwal has been holding back-to-back meetings with party leaders.

The AAP chief exhorted councillors of his party to work harder for the Lok Sabha elections and also for cleanliness in their areas.

“They (BJP) had sent me to jail thinking that after sending Kejriwal to jail his party would disintegrate, his councillors, MLAs would disintegrate, they would break half the MLAs, half the councillors, they would topple the government in Delhi and MCD. The result was exactly the opposite,” Kejriwal said.

The Delhi CM said that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was not going to form the next government at the centre. “Till three months ago, it seemed that they (BJP) would get over 400 seats.Today, people in the country are not betting whether they (BJP) will get over 400 seats, the bet is that whether they will get 250 seats. What is this? This is a miracle; this is God’s grace,” said Kejriwal.

Kejriwal claimed that the BJP, through jail authorities, prevented him from meeting his wife, and made him meet Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann through a window as if they were criminals. “…they made us sit on two sides of the wire mesh wall, just like we see in the movies...This was only done to humiliate me,” Kejriwal said.

DG (prisons) could not be reached for comment.

Delhi BJP response awaited…

Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal is likely to hold multiple roadshows in Kurukshetra on Tuesday to seek votes for AAP candidate Sushil Gupta, who is backed by the Congress. AAP officials said Arvind Kejriwal will campaign for INDIA alliance in Lucknow on May 15, Jamshedpur on May 16 and Mumbai on May 17.