Did PM Modi’s speech put Kejriwal to sleep? Sisodia thinks so

Did Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Independence Day speech put Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to sleep?

Yes. If you go by the tweet that was sent out by Kejriwal’s deputy Manish Sisodia after the state broadcaster Doordarshan tweeted a picture of the chief minister with his eyes shut.

“It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech was very boring,” the Delhi deputy CM tweeted. The message was retweeted by Kejriwal, who was sitting among the audience at the Red Fort next to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad.

Modi’s third address to the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort ran close to 100 minutes in which he presented a report card of his government, highlighting its achievements and promising growth.

Sporting a red, pink and yellow turban and dressed in his trademark half-sleeved white kurta, Modi called for unity and took aim at supporters of “terrorism”. In a marked departure, he even talked about Pakistan’s troubled province of Balochistan.

Kejriwal has been at loggerheads with the Centre over transfers, control of police and routing of files. The two sides are locked in legal battles as well. Recently, the high court ruled that the lieutenant governor, who represents the Centre, had the final word on administrative control of Delhi, dealing a blow to the Kejriwal government.

Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party accuses L-G Najeeb Jung of being partisan and trying to destabilise the government at the Centre’s behest.

(With agency inputs)