CM's pre-poll imprisonment silences dissent, calls for resistance against authoritarianism: Sunita Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals wife Sunita on Sunday alleged he was jailed before the elections to stifle his voice as she urged people to vote against dictatorship when the national capital goes to polls later this month.Sunita held her third roadshow in the national capital in south Delhi in support of AAP candidate Sahiram Pahalwan on Sunday.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita on Sunday alleged he was jailed before the elections to ''stifle'' his voice as she urged people to vote against ''dictatorship'' when the national capital goes to polls later this month.

Sunita held her third roadshow in the national capital in south Delhi in support of AAP candidate Sahiram Pahalwan on Sunday. The area was dotted with AAP flags and people stood on their balconies carrying messages that read 'I love Kejriwal', 'We miss you Kejriwal'.

Standing through the sunroof of her car, she held the roadshow in Deoli as people showered flower petals on her car.

In the absence of her husband who is lodged in jail, Sunita has taken the reins of the AAP's Lok Sabha campaign. Recently, she held road shows in East Delhi and West Delhi Lok Sabha seats where AAP has fielded its candidates.

Sunita said her husband was put in jail since he built good government schools, mohalla clinics and promised to give Rs 1,000 to every woman in Delhi.

''He has been put in jail just before polls to stifle his voice so that it doesn't reach you,'' she said.

Sunita said the CM's rivals are bothered by the fact that Delhi has elected him thrice. ''What is the fault of Shri Arvind Kejriwal? Is it his fault that he made electricity free for 24 hours in Delhi. Earlier there used to be a lot of power cuts, but now there is electricity for all 24 hours,'' she said.

That is why these people put your chief minister in jail during the elections, Sunita charged.

Sunita further said, ''Kejriwal is a lion and no one can bend or break him.'' ''Their dictatorship is at its peak. Arvind Kejriwal is a true son of mother India. Today this daughter of mother India requests you to save this country. This country is moving towards dictatorship. Democracy is in danger,'' she said.

Sunita urged people to understand the power of their vote and said ''on May 25, everyone must go to vote and press the 'jhadu' (broom -- AAP's symbol) button to make INDIA alliance candidate Sahiram Pehelwan win and defeat dictatorship.'' ''Together we will defeat dictatorship," she said.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case. He is currently held in Tihar Jail under judicial custody. Voting for seven Lok Sabha polls in Delhi will be held on May 25. ''They have forcibly incarcerated your chief minister and my husband for the last one-and-a-half month,'' Sunita said, adding that no court has pronounced him guilty. ''They are saying that the investigation is underway,'' she said.

''If this probe continues for 10 years, will they keep him in jail for 10 years?'' she charged.

''So far any individual was sent to jail when any court of the country pronounces them guilty. Now these people have brought a system in which they say that they would keep anyone in jail as long as the investigation is not finished. This is right down to hooliganism and dictatorship,'' she said in a reference to the BJP-led central government's Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

Sharing an anecdote about her husband, she said, "Arvind ji is a well educated, staunchly honest, and true patriot. We have been married for 30 years. For 30 years I have been seeing these values in him. When our marriage was fixed, there was only one question. He asked, 'I want to do social service, wouldn't you have any problem with it?' He's passionate about only one and that is how to make common people's lives better.'' She further added that in 2011, he sat on a hunger strike twice for the rights of the common people.

''He did not eat anything for 13-14 days. He's suffering from diabetes and takes insulin. Doctors advised him not to sit on a hunger strike, but he didn't follow the doctors' instructions. He jeopardised his life for people's rights,'' she recalled.

Sunita claimed that after the Delhi CM was sent to jail this year, ''his insulin was stopped''.

''His blood sugar level peaked to more than 300. This would make his kidney, liver and other essential organs malfunction. We had to go to the court and ask for permission to give insulin to Arvind Kejriwal," she said.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)