Arvind Kejriwal loves controversies more than controversies love him. On 16th July 2016, when PM Modi chaired the 11th meeting of Inter-State council in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal was also present, but he couldn’t make headlines apart from being part of a joke on social media: “Narenda Modi ignored Arvind Kejriwal”
4 days after being completely sidelined in the event, Arvind Kejriwal has ignited a fresh controversy. At the launch of a book ‘Arvind Kejriwal and The Aam Aadmi Party — AnInside Look’ authored by his batchmate from IIT Kharagpur, Arvind Kejriwal told reporters that:
They made few a Chief Ministers, including me, to leave our phones outside. It was very strange. They kept phones of a few Chief Ministers outside while others were allowed to take their phones inside. I raised the issue in my speech as well. I asked the Prime Minister whether a few Chief Ministers pose security threats to him
Arvind Kejriwal, who missed to grab attention in the Inter-State council, finally managed to get into headlines. Many media houses, including Janta Ka Reporter – the alleged mouth piece of AAP — portrayed Arvind Kejriwal as a victim who was purposefully forced not to carry the phone.
The insinuation was soon rejected by celebrities and journalists who have been to PM meetings earlier. Some of them also talked about security protocols which allows invitees to carry electronic gadgets only under special circumstances
But this has been true for all Prime Ministers starting with Indira Gandhi. https://t.co/rURIzmOotx
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) July 20, 2016
@pranavsgupta You leave everything outside. Tape recorders, phones, any electronic gadgets you may have. @JantaKaReporter
— Pritish Nandy (@PritishNandy) July 20, 2016
It’s an international norm. Nothing is allowed inside PMO. Or White House. Nothing. Even if you are the Blessed One. https://t.co/AC3n8sU6yG
— Vivek Agnihotri (@vivekagnihotri) July 20, 2016
Vajpayee PMO had this SPG notice: no visitors permitted mob phones except Rajat Sharma, Prabhu Chawla & Murli Deora https://t.co/2sFXYMCjds
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) July 20, 2016
OpIndia also talked to many individuals who were invited to meet the PM in the past. They all confirmed that mobile phones were not allowed when they met the PM.
It is noteworthy that neither Arvind Kejriwal nor the media is mentioning that the meeting was held in Rashtrapati Bhavan and not at PM’s residence. Rules and regulations for the building are not set by PMO, but by the President Office.
It is interesting to see that Arvind Kejriwal wisely kept his remarks in subjectivity by claiming “a few Chief Ministers, including me had to leave our phones outside”. Unlike his usual style, he didn’t mention names of CMs who were allowed to carry mobile phones without any interruptions. Moreover, only last year when AAP organized National Council Meeting, mobile phones were not allowed. Were his own party people posing a security threat to him? Arvind, who likes to call him an Aam Aadmi, should ponder why is he so uneasy when he is kept under similar rules.
