On Independence Day, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched the bold campaign ‘Desh Azad, Loktantra Jail Mein’ (The Country is Free, But Democracy is in Jail), highlighting a dark chapter in independent India’s history. For the first time, a democratically elected Chief Minister has been unjustly jailed by the Centre’s authoritarian regime, unable to hoist the tricolor at his official residence, as stated by the AAP. AAP’s campaign, underscored by the hashtag, calls on citizens to pledge resistance against dictatorship, asserting that the centre’s actions betray the very ideals our freedom fighters fought for.
It’s to be noted that the hashtag launched by the AAP i.e ‘Desh_Azad_Loktantra_Jail_Mein’ has been trending nationwide for the past hours. The people from across the country have been tweeting in support of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, and against his illegal incarceration by the centre.
Expressing her disappointment onCM Arvind Kejriwal not being able to hoist tricolor at his official residence, CM Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, shared on her ‘X’ handle (erstwhile Twitter), “The tricolor was not hoisted at the CM residence today. It was very sad. This dictatorship can keep an elected Chief Minister in jail, but how will it stop the patriotism in the heart?”
On the other hand, senior leader of AAP and former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia also targeted the dictatorial government of the country regarding this. He tweeted, “On the anniversary of ‘independence from the British’, salute to that spirit, which is today imprisoned in the dictator’s jail for ‘safeguarding freedom from dictatorship’.”
Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted, “Heartiest wishes to the compatriots on Independence Day. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who made this dream come true in Delhi that the level of education and health should be better in India, electricity, water, and bus travel for mothers and sisters should be free, is in jail on Independence Day. The campaign to make the country happy and prosperous will continue. Jail cannot break our resolve.”
On the other hand, the party’s Delhi State Convenor and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai said that this is very sad. This country became independent after a long struggle, but for the first time after independence, a Chief Minister elected with a huge majority could not hoist the tricolor today only due to the dictatorship and stubbornness of the central government and he is inside the jail.
“Arvind Kejriwal was granted bail by the trial court and the Supreme Court. To ensure that CM Arvind Kejriwal does not come out of jail in any way, the BJP conspired and put the CBI’s noose around him. No matter how much these people trouble us, the elected government of Delhi was working for the people of Delhi, is working and will continue to work in future too. On behalf of the Delhi government, Home Minister Kailash Gahlot has hoisted the flag and put the government’s message in front of the public,” he added.
Meanwhile, senior AAP leader and Delhi’s Education Minister Atishi tweeted, “Today is Independence Day. When India got independence from the British dictatorship in 1947. To give us this freedom, hundreds of freedom fighters were beaten with sticks, went to jail and sacrificed their lives. Even in their dreams, such a thought would not have come true that one day, in independent India, an elected Chief Minister would be implicated in a false case and kept in jail for months. Come, on this Independence Day, we take a pledge that we will keep fighting against dictatorship till our last breath.”
Senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj shares on his ‘X’ handle, “Today the whole country is celebrating Independence Day and our beloved Chief Minister ArvindKejriwal ji is behind bars for many months in a false case. The country will soon get freedom from this arbitrariness. Jai Hind, Jai Bharat, Jai Samvidhan.”
