Amid the penultimate poll clash in Delhi as India votes in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a stinging attack on chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Without naming the AAP convener, he questioned how an individual facing serious corruption charges can be interviewed by the media.
Kejriwal, who was in Tihar jail for 40 days in the liquor policy case, is out on bail and campaigning for the elections. He has also claimed that this is a conspiracy against him and, if his party wins the elections, he will not be returning to jail.
In an interview with News18’s Aman Sharma, Payal Mehta, Aman Chopra and Amitabh Sinha, the prime minister was asked about how the CM is portraying his bail as a victory. To this, he pointed to how the observations made by the Delhi High Court in the case are scathing. “The matter is sub-judice and for me to comment on it is inappropriate. But, if I simply focus on what the courts have said, let’s take a look at what the high court has said. Leave aside what the agency has said, or what a BJP spokesperson has said. But, the high court has made strict observations in the liquor policy case,” he said.
Prime Minister Modi said what concerns him is that there is no accountability left in public life and no commitment to the spoken word. “Now, what is concerning, and this is a serious matter, that in public life, there is no accountability anymore. There is no commitment on what you say. In public life, there was a time, when a student would get caught cheating, he would be suspended for a month from school and his parents would be embarrassed about this. Such things were considered wrong in society,” he said.
But, the PM said, nowadays those facing serious charges are being celebrated, or rather, glorified while the media is interviewing such individuals. Equating Kejriwal to criminal Charles Sobhraj, who garnered a celebrity-like status, he said he is concerned about this kind of moral degradation in society.
“What is happening today is that, without any shame, those who have faced punishment or are facing serious charges, they are being celebrated in public. I am concerned about this kind of moral degradation; I am not concerned with any individual,” he said.
He added: “Earlier, there used to be dacoits whose exploits were glorified by newspapers and society. Unfortunately, now corrupt politicians are also getting this benefit. I am shocked at how corrupt individuals are being interviewed by the media. I’ve only seen a criminal like Charles Sobhraj being interviewed like this before.”
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