"Rinkiya ke papa ko harana hai": Kejriwal–Kanhaiya roadshow mocks Modi

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal — accompanied by Congress candidate Kanhaiya Kumar for the North East Delhi Lok Sabha seat in a joint rally late on the evening of 21 May, Tuesday — sharply criticised the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the arrests of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders.

Kejriwal asked whether the citizens had elected a "PM or a thanedar (policeman)", following the arrest of his aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case.

The AAP leader held a roadshow in Bhajanpura, part of the North East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, where the Congress' Kanhaiya Kumar is contesting against the BJP's Manoj Tiwari.

Referring to the detentions of other AAP leaders, Kejriwal — who is currently out on interim bail to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections — urged the North East Delhi voters to support the Congress, as it is the AAP's ally in the INDIA bloc.

He emphasised that a vote for the Congress could prevent his imprisonment. "Vote for Kanhaiya Kumar and defeat Rinkiya ke papa," he said, alluding to the prime minister with the title of a popular song.

“They (BJP) have unleashed gundagardi (hooliganism) on the Opposition. Now it is up to you (the people)," Kejriwal said.

The Delhi chief minister highlighted the arrests of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh (who is now out on bail) as well, questioning the motives behind these actions.

"Modi tried a lot to kept me inside the jail, but due to Bajrang-bali's blessings, I came out," Kejriwal said, holding aloft a gada (club such as Hanuman carries).

Claiming that the BJP was falsely implicating AAP leaders, he challenged the government to show evidence of corruption. “They put Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in jail. Now they have also sent my (former) PA behind bars. They are also planning to send Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi to jail," he said, asking:

Kejriwal criticised the BJP for accusing the AAP of a "fictitious" Rs 100 crore scam and questioned the outcome of over 500 raids, asking, "Did you even recover a paisa? Where is the 100 crore? Did it vanish into thin air?"

During the roadshow, Kanhaiya Kumar — who also has experience of having been booked in a sedition case in 2016 — addressed the crowd, saying, "The court has granted [Kejriwal] bail so that he can protect democracy in the country and fight for your rights."

Kumar called for peace, prosperity and unity in North East Delhi, urging the need for a change of government to effect this change on the ground.

Posting on X in Hindi, he declared: 'Haath aur khaadu sang-sang, Hum bachayenge loktantra (Hand and broom, we go together to save democracy)'

The entire country has made up their mind that on 4 June, the Modi government is not coming to power, Kejriwal claimed.

"Acche din aane wale hai, Modi-ji jaane wale hai (the good days are coming, Modi-ji is about to be going)," the chief minister said, alluding to Modi's decade-old election promise of bringing 'achhe din'.

As allies in the INDIA bloc, the AAP and the Congress are contesting the Delhi seats together, with the AAP in the running in four constituencies and the Congress in three.

Voting for all seven seats in Delhi is scheduled for 25 May, with election results to be announced on 4 June.