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Two days before Delhi elections, AAP co-founder who was kicked out by Kejriwal peddles ‘EVM tampering’ bogey

OpIndia Staff
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Two days before Delhi elections, AAP co-founder who was kicked out by Kejriwal peddles ‘EVM tampering’ bogey

Two days ahead of the Delhi assembly elections, controversial ultra-left wing Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan, who was kicked out of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has picked up the EVM ‘bogey’ yet again as he asked whether Home Minister Amit Shah was going to ‘tamper EVMs’ to win Delhi elections.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday during an election meeting in East Delhi’s Kondli had said that the Delhi elections was a contest between two “ideologies” and asserted that the poll results will come as a shock to everyone.

Home Minister Amit Shah had urged people to vote along with their families before 10.30 am on February 8 to make Delhi and the country safe. “I know your decision, the results on February 11 will shock everyone,” he had said.

Shah’s statements came at the backdrop of the recent pre-poll surveys which had predicted a victory for the ruling of the Aam Aadmi Party in the Delhi elections. The Home Minister was probably saying that the results will be much more different than the pre-poll surveys as he asserted that elections results would shock the people.

However, Prashant Bhushan who has a habit of taking offence to every statement by BJP leaders took to Twitter to float his conspiracy theory. He asked how could Amit Shah say that Delhi election results will ‘shock everyone’. Bhushan claimed that Home Minister Amit Shah already knew AAP was winning and according to Prashant Bhushan, Shah’s statement only meant that BJP was going to do magic by tampering EVMs to win elections.


It is bizarre that Prashant Bhushan who claims to be a Supreme Court lawyer makes such illogical statements to make a political point. Bhushan, who often proclaims himself to be an intellectual, however, did not comprehend the contextual nature of Amit Shah’s statements and rather indulged in his usual act of spreading conspiracy theories and false propaganda, that too about a non-existent ‘EVM tampering’ bogey that has long been debunked as totally fake and fictional.

Read: Anti-CAA protests: How Congress, Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav’s party Swarajya Abhiyaan are fuelling protests

This is not the first time that ‘activist’ Prashant Bhushan has indulged in spreading false information. Last year in May, Prashant Bhushan and few others were also booked for allegedly circulating fake news over EVMs.

“This is not a strategy like Babri Masjid where we will have to accept the court judgement”: Mumbai SIO leader detained for provocative speech

OpIndia Staff
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“This is not a strategy like Babri Masjid where we will have to accept the court judgement”: Mumbai SIO leader detained for provocative speech

Student Islamic Organisation Maharashtra chief Salman Ahmed has been detained for making provocative statement during an anti-CAA gathering in Nanded earlier this month.


In the speech, one can hear him say that this is not like Babri Masjid where Supreme Court judgement will be binding on all. “Shaheen Bagh has decided that CAA will be rolled back and the government must roll back. This is a fight for dignity. This is a fight for justice and self respect. This law will be rolled back and this government will also go. If these two things (CAA and the Narendra Modi-led government) stay, then nothing will remain. Muslim community is ready to do whatever it takes. This is not a strategy like Babri Masjid where we will have to accept the court judgement. We have made a decision, now Hindustan will have to accept it.”


In another clip that has gone viral, he shames Hindus for the central government passing the Citizenship Amendment Act. “You should be ashamed. Don’t come to show that there are Hindus against CAA. But be ashamed that this law came into being not because of Muslim votes but because of our votes. Muslims have not voted for Pragya Singh Thakur. You know who voted for her. Muslims didn’t vote for Yogi, you voted for Yogi,” he says. Salman Ahmed further tries to shame Hindus for electing these leaders. He further says that instead of sacrificing and putting in hard work to get the law rolled back, Hindus are telling Muslims what to do and what slogans to not shout. “You are not able to mobilise your community but you are telling Muslims free advice like don’t chant these slogans, don’t wear a skull cap, keep your religion at home,” he says.

Referring to secularism as ‘burden’, the SIO chief claims that it is not only Muslims’ responsibility to prove their secular credentials. Taking a dig at senior Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor and Rahul Gandhi, Ahmed says “Shashi Tharoor writes a book ‘Why I am a Hindu’ and he is a posterboy for liberals. One man shows off his janeu during elections, goes temple hopping and calls himself a ‘Shiv bhakt’, but if a Muslim identifies himself as Muslim, then they are called communal.”

Following his hateful speech, Ahmed was booked and later detained by Mumbai Police on Wednesday after he was traced to a hideout in Kurla.

Tej Pratap Yadav is ‘mentally unstable’: JDU reacts to RJD leader’s comments on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

OpIndia Staff
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Tej Pratap Yadav is ‘mentally unstable’: JDU reacts to RJD leader’s comments on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar

Lambasting at RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav’s elder son, Tej Pratap Yadav for his controversial remark on JD(U) chief and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, JD(U) leader Ajay Alok said that Tej Pratap is ‘mentally unstable’.

Alok stated that Tej Pratap’s mental balance is poor. “He dances like Radha Krishna. He should have been in Ranchi instead of Patna. Only a crazy person would say such things,” said Alok Kumar suggesting that it is better for the family to send Tej Pratap to Ranchi where he might be treated. Notably, Ranchi is the home for the Central Institute of Psychiatry, regarded as one of the best institutes for treatment of mental illness.

Tej Pratap Yadav, who is often in news for his marital woes and peculiar fashion sense, had stated earlier that Nitish Kumar is not ‘Kumar’ but he is a ‘Kumari’. He had also made derogatory statements against deputy CM Sushil Modi and state health minister Mangal Pandey, calling him ‘Amangal’ Pandey. Yadav was speaking at an anti-CAA event in Masaudi on Wednesday.

Read: Taher ‘mankind angel’ Shah and Tej Pratap Yadav: Both made big promises but neither fulfilled

The son of fodder scam convict and Bihar’s former CM Lalu Prasad Yadav had also attacked the JD(U)-NDA alliance, saying that if BJP-JD(U) leaders have courage, then they should be fighting from the front, and should not be sitting at home wearing bangles.

Reacting to the same remarks made by Tej Pratap, BJP spokesperson Nikhil Anand said that Tej Pratap mimics his father, he will also go to jail like him. Describing Tej Pratap as habitually bad-tempered and insolent leader Nikhil Anand demanded that Tej Pratap must immediately apologize to Nitish Kumar and Sushil Modi.

Meanwhile, BJP MLC Naval Yadav also called Taj Pratap deranged and said that he should not be given any importance. If mentally unstable people are given the attention, their morale gets boosted which proliferates their insanity, said the BJP leader.

RJD party MLA Vijay Prakash, however, jumped to Tej Pratap’s rescue calling him a kid. He defended RJD chief’s son by saying that it was merely a slip of tongue and Tej Pratap Yadav’s intentions were clear.

You made someone who instigated anti-Sikh riots, a Chief Minister: PM Modi exposes Congress, MP CM Kamal Nath in Parliament

OpIndia Staff
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You made someone who instigated anti-Sikh riots, a Chief Minister: PM Modi exposes Congress, MP CM Kamal Nath in Parliament

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the opposition and its sympathisers during his reply to the motion of thanks to President’s address in Lok Sabha. Prime Minister Modi also indirectly attacked the Congress party, especially Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath by reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.


Attacking Congress over its hypocrisy over the Citizenship Amendment Act, PM Modi questioned Congress party’s silence over the anti-Sikh genocide and asked why did not they seek justice for the Sikhs then by sending the accused to Jail.

Read: Two witnesses ready to depose against senior Congress leader Kamal Nath’s alleged role in 1984 Sikh genocide

He further attacked the party by stating that Congress party not only failed in sending the accused in the anti-Sikh riots to jails but also made an accused the Chief Minister of the state by referring to Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath.

“You did not send those who are accused in the anti-Sikh riots to jails. Not just that, you also made someone who has allegations of instigating anti-Sikh riots, a Chief Minister,” said PM Modi as he indirectly attacked Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

Read: How Congress created the ‘Hindu terror’ theory: A saga that started not with Malegaon blasts, but Sikh massacre of 1984

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath is accused of instigating people during the anti-Sikh genocide in 1984 after the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. According to the witnesses, Kamal Nath was present at the Rakab Ganj Gurudwara inciting the mob in 1984.

Shaheen Bagh: Despite the death of an infant, the ‘celebration’ continues, quite literally

OpIndia Staff
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Shaheen Bagh: Despite the death of an infant, the ‘celebration’ continues, quite literally

The death of an innocent baby at Shaheen Bagh due to negligence during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act doesn’t appear to have dented the festive spirit of the protesters. Even after the terrible news became public, celebrations are on at the site of the tragedy. The ‘Daadis’ of Shaheen Bagh had invited artists, musicians, and poets to participate in the celebration of Unity, Peace and Harmony to attend the protests between the 2nd of February and the 7th.

Source: shaheenbaghoff1/Instagram

Conventional wisdom suggests that in light of the tragedy, at least overt festivities would have been abandoned by the organizers of these ‘unorganized’ protests. But that doesn’t appear to be the case. It appears that the protesters are more eager than anyone else to bury the tragedy.

Read: Shaheen Bagh ground report: A well-organised ‘organic’ protest, estimated costs of Rs 5L everyday and protestors spying on you

Such an attitude is not surprising given the fact that the mother of the dead infant herself is willing to ‘sacrifice’ her remaining two children as well for the fight against NRC. On being asked whether she was scared for the lives of her other children, she said, “No, we are not afraid. We will bring them and if needed, will sacrifice them as well. We will also die in the fight but we will fight for the country.”

Source: Instagram

The ‘festival of unity’ continues unabated at Shaheen Bagh as the death of the infant is swept under the rug. It is important to remember that the death was completely avoidable and purely a consequence of the Islamic zealotry of the protesters. Instead of addressing the issues that led to the tragedy, the protesters and their handlers appear far more eager to distract attention from it by engaging in celebrations by roping in artists.


OpIndia had also reported on the death of a two-month-old child who had been accompanying its mother to Shaheen Bagh protests. However, we are unable to confirm whether the cases are the same or there has been the death of two infants.

Read: Delhi Police suspects foreign funding links in Shaheen Bagh mastermind Sharjeel Imam’s bank accounts

Apart from the tragedy, there has been rampant hooliganism during these protests. However, the artists appear over willing to legitimize the zealotry of the protesters that led to the death of a baby and has produced immense hooliganism and slogans such as ‘Jinnah Wali Azadi‘.

Kaushambi gang rape case: POCSO court awards life imprisonment to convicts Nazim, Adil and Akib for raping minor Dalit girl and filming the act

OpIndia Staff
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Kaushambi gang rape case: POCSO court awards life imprisonment to convicts Nazim, Adil and Akib for raping minor Dalit girl and filming the act

On Wednesday, a special judge of a district POCSO court awarded life imprisonment to three Muslim men for raping a teenage girl and then posting a video of the crime on social media in the Kaushambi gang-rape case.

According to reports, special judge Anupam Kumar, after examining the witnesses produced by the prosecution, held the three criminals guilty and thereafter sentenced them to life imprisonment.

Each convict has also been fined Rs 1 Lakh 83 thousand.

The three accused, Mohammed Adil alias Chhotka, Mohammad Abid alias Badka and Mohammad Nazim had raped a minor Dalit girl in Sarai Akil area of Kaushambi district. According to the prosecution, the trio had also brutally assaulted the survivor.

In a gruesome incident, on 21st September last year, a 15-year-old Dalit girl was gang-raped and filmed by three men in Ghosia village of Kaushambi district near Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh.

In a video of the gang-rape that has gone viral, the girl was seen begging and pleading the criminals to let her go. She was saying, “Allah ki Kasam, Mujhe Chhod do, Bhaiya Aap Mujhe Jaante Ho, Mere Sath mat Karo (brothers, please do not do this to me, I am known to you, please, for Allah’s sake, let me go”. Amidst screams and desperate cries, the helpless girl kept begging for mercy. However, the brutes refused to spare her.

Read: Kaushambi Dalit minor rape case: Main accused Adil was hiding in a Mazaar, arrested after an encounter with the police

As per reports, the villagers nearby had rushed to the spot after hearing the victim wailing and screaming. A case was registered against the three men at Sarai Akil police station and they were booked them under section 376 (rape) other sections of the Indian Penal Code. The police had also filed a case in serious sections including SC/ST atrocities act.

One accused Nazim was caught by the villagers and beaten up by the angered crowd while Adil and a third accused Abid had managed to flee. The police had managed to arrest them within four days of the incident.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi summoned by Mumbai court over his commander-in-thief remark against PM Modi

OpIndia Staff
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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi summoned by Mumbai court over his commander-in-thief remark against PM Modi

A Mumbai magistrate court summoned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed against him by a BJP leader over his “commander-in-thief” remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Congress leader is required to appear in person before the Metropolitan Magistrate 25th court, Mumbai, on February 15, 2020. The letter issued to Rahul Gandhi specifies that it is mandatory for him to appear in person to answer to a charge of an offence punishable under sec 499, 500 of IPC.

Copy of summoning sent to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

Prior to this Rahul Gandhi was summoned in the same case by the Mumbai court in August last year. The defamation complaint was filed by Mahesh Hukumchand Shrishrimal (Jain), the 43-year-old Girgaum resident and a BJP worker, in September 2018.

Shrishrimal claimed in his plea that Rahul Gandhi’s remark on September 20, 2018, not only defamed PM Narendra Modi but also hurt the sentiments of the Prime Minister’s supporters.

Shrishrimal handed over CDs of Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and various news articles printed at the time when the former Congress chief made the comment. Rahul Gandhi defamed the prime minister by calling him as “commander-in-thief”, Shrishrimal claimed.

The complainant had asserted that the said news was published in various news channels and newspapers. Thereby the accused has caused defamation of Prime Minister as well as members of BJP, read the order sent to Rahul Gandhi by the Mumbai court which asked the Congress leader to appear in person on February 15, 2020.

Congress Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi had called PM Modi ‘commander-in-thief’ in 2018 while talking about the Rafale fighter jet deal. He even tweeted the same on September 24, 2018.

Lying blatantly about the Rafale deal Rahul Gandhi in the tweet had posted a video and captioned it: “The sad truth about India’s Commander in Thief,” referring to PM Modi.


Despite all the facts being there out in the open, Rahul Gandhi has time and again used the Rafale deal to defame PM Modi led BJP government. He managed to concoct a “scam” where there existed none and continued with his canards despite the Supreme Court giving the deal a clean chit. The Rafale deal became Rahul Gandhi’s pet issue prior to last year’s Lok Sabha elections. He repeated lies after lies, canards after canards helped by his friends in the media who never questioned him about his assertions.

After infant dies at Shaheen Bagh ‘protests’ because of cold, Bravery Award winner writes to CJI to stop children from attending protests

OpIndia Staff
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After infant dies at Shaheen Bagh ‘protests’ because of cold, Bravery Award winner writes to CJI to stop children from attending protests

Days after reports emerged that at least one infant has died because the parents took them to Shaheen Bagh for protests and exposed them to Delhi’s bitter cold, National Bravery Award winner Zen Gunratan Sadavarte has written to the Chief Justice of India (CJI) seeking directives for stopping children from being used in protests.

In a letter, the National Bravery Award winner has said that the infant’s death is violation of Right to Life under article 21 of Constitution of India. Zen Gunratan Sadavarte is a recipient of 2019 Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW) National Bravery Award. She has written to CJI Bobde seeking directives to prevent children from being used in these protests as it amounts to cruelty.

Read: “He also had to fight for our rights. He also wanted Azaadi. Ready to sacrifice other two children”: Dead infant’s mother defends bringing child to protests

In her letter she further states that the parents of the infant as well as the organisers of the Shaheen Bagh ‘protests’ failed to protect the rights of the child. This resulted in the death of the child. “The Shaheen Bagh protesters at New Delhi, include women, senior citizens, new-borns and children, ignoring the fact that new-born babies need a lot of attention and care as they cannot express their pains in particulars thereafter also ignoring the conditions unfavourable to the children, they are brought to the protest place which is violative of their child rights and natural justice,” she said in her letter.

She has further alleged that the Police, too, failed to stop the children from participating in these protests. Sadavarte even expressed surprise at cause of death not being mentioned on death certificate of the four month old child.

Settle persecuted minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh in Jammu and Kashmir: Uddhav Thackeray dares govt in interview

OpIndia Staff
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Settle persecuted minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh in Jammu and Kashmir: Uddhav Thackeray dares govt in interview

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray, in an interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana, has demanded that the Modi government should settle all the persecuted minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan seeking citizenship in India under the new Citizenship Law, in Jammu and Kashmir.

In the interview with Shiv Sena MP and Saamana chief editor, Sanjay Raut, Thackeray said that the Union Government has not been clear about the number of persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries to be settled in India. “Where will they be settled? Will they get houses under PM Awas Yojana? What about their employment? What about the education of their children? We have the right to know all these things”, said the Maharashtra CM.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxRRXCUAcp8]
Thackeray furthered that these people (Hindu, Sikh and Christian minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh)are not going to settle in rural areas. They will approach major cities where people are already suffering from unemployment and have no house to live.

“The government should come clean on this. Will they be settled in Delhi or Bengaluru? Now that Article 370 is abrogated, will the government facilitate their rehabilitation in Kashmir? Why doesn’t Government declare that? They should declare that the persecuted minorities will be settled in Kashmir, said the Maharashtra CM.”

In yet another flip flop on CAA, Thackeray batted for the Citizenship Amendment Act and said that it had been misunderstood. He claimed there was no need to pass an Assembly resolution against it, contrary to his previous claim that the law has several loopholes.

In an interview to party mouthpiece Saamana, Thackeray said the ‘misunderstandings’ about the citizenship law need to be cleared. “CAA is not a law to remove someone from the country,” he added. “Amit Shah has said that it is to give citizenship. And I agree with it to that extent. It is to give citizenship to those persecuted minorities from neighbouring countries and not to remove anyone from the country.”

It is pertinent to note here that Shiv Sena has frequently changed its stand on the Citizenship Amendment Act since December when it was approved by Parliament.

Ahead of the tabling of the Citizen (Amendment) Bill in the Lok Sabha, the party had in its mouthpiece Saamana criticised the Centre for creating an “invisible partition of Hindus and Muslims”. The party also wondered whether the ‘selective acceptance’ of Hindu undocumented immigrants would spark a religious war in India. The party alleged that practising “vote bank politics” under the guise of the Bill was not in the nation’s interests.

Though the Shiv Sena had opposed the Bill during the debate, however, in an amusing twist of events, it voted for the passage of Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in the Lok Sabha. All 18 Shiv Sena MPs in the Lok Sabha voted for the Bill. After that, it chose to stay out of the Rajya Sabha when the House voted on the BILL.

Party MP Sanjay Raut then claimed that the Sena had “boycotted” the voting as “it is not right to either support or oppose the bill when answers are not given properly” by the government.

AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi had also slammed Shiv Sena over its flipflop on the Citizenship Amendment Bill (now an Act), calling it Shiv Sena’s ‘bhangra politics’.

Meanwhile, as Uddhav progressed with the interview, he categorically claimed that he will not allow the implementation of the National Register of Citizens in Maharashtra. “It is not that the NRC is troublesome for Muslims only,” he said. “In fact, NRC will not come. We will not let it come. If BJP decides to implement the NRC, it will create problems not only for Muslims but for all of us, Hindus and the people from all the religions,” said Uddhav.

Calling NRC secular, Shiv Sena supremo said that NRC is going to affect Hindus and Muslims alike. Hindus too would be asked to furnish their documents. They will have to stand in queues and prove their citizenship. Those who think it will only impact Muslims are grossly mistaken. In Assam, out of 19 lakh people left out of the register, 14 lakh were Hindus, claimed Thackeray.

Read: Owaisi slams Shiv Sena for flipflop on CAB, calls it ‘bhangra politics

In a veiled attack on his cousin and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who is to lead a rally in support of the CAA and NRC in Mumbai on February 9, the chief minister said the NRC is not yet a reality and there is no need for a ‘morcha’ in support of or against it.

“If the NRC is enforced, those who are supporting it will also be affected,” he said.

While unveiling a new saffron flag for the MNS on Thursday, Raj Thackeray had maintained that Pakistani and Bangladeshi ‘infiltrators’ should be evicted from the country and that he supports the Narendra Modi government on this.

From ‘accidental suicide’ to ‘compromise kar lo’: 11 controversies involving AAP that the country forgot too soon

Anand Walunjkar
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From ‘accidental suicide’ to ‘compromise kar lo’: 11 controversies involving AAP that the country forgot too soon

We live in an excessive data age, an important characteristic of which is amnesia. Plenty of information makes it difficult for a common man to keep up with everything, but all he captures is the narrative. Like not many remember the n-number of scams during the UPA era, but only a handful of them including 2G and Coalgate. The case for the Aam Aadmi Party is not quite different. After making noises one after another, people tend to forget what the previous one was for. What is more is that if this is followed by some months of abstinence of party leaders from media, all the negative news tends to erase from public memory. Let us ask ourselves how many of these political stunts and controversies of AAP do we even remember some of which have gone horribly wrong.

Accidental Suicide?

When Gajendra Singh Kalyanwat hanged himself in full public view in an AAP rally, Arvind Kejriwal continued giving a speech while his body was being brought down the tree by volunteers. It was widely speculated to be a political stunt gone horribly wrong. Gajendra’s sister claims he was well off and wasn’t distressed at all to commit suicide, yet, spectators allege that he was threatening to hang himself without meaning to when his foot slipped, and the knot tightened on him. AAP leader Ashutosh had cried buckets on national television which distracted attention from alleged suicide to his own tears. Had it been any other politician, his career would have finished for lack of sensitivity. But in Kejriwal’s case, it was just another case of amnesia.

Compromise kar lo

There was another suicide for which Arvind Kejriwal claims to not remember – Soni Mishra, who killed herself after allegedly being sexually harassed by AAP activists. Soni Mishra had herself confessed that she had approached the Delhi CM who advised to compromise.

Flirting with Khalistan

AAP leader Gul Panag had claimed that she had warned AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal against flirting with Khalistani elements. Not only there were allegations of election funding from hardliner Sikh groups, but chief operative of banned Sikh body ISYF Gurdial Singh was actively campaigning for Aam Aadmi Party. In fact, AAP MP Dharamvir Gandhi had openly come out in support of Khalistan Referendum. Ultimately AAP had a debacle in Punjab elections.

Sting Operation

While Arvind Kejriwal had always pretended to assume the moral high ground when it comes to clean politics, Aaj Tak had run a sting operation where he was caught trying to break MLAs from Congress party. This was the time when he had resigned as CM and had also lost Lok Sabha elections badly across the country and was trying desperately to form a government with Congress support.

Ruckus in Assembly

While claiming to follow the paths of Mahatma Gandhi and Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and AAP had done the exact opposite of indulging in violence and disrespecting the democratic institutions. Kapil Mishra, the then AAP member was beaten up in Delhi Assembly by MLAs Amanatullah Khan, Jarnail Singh and Madan Lal. Ironically, it was Mishra who faced the ire of the Speaker and not the AAP MLAs. Mishra later displayed the skeletons in his closet and alleged that he had witnessed Kejriwal taking a bribe of two crore rupees in cash.

Slapgate

Arvind Kejriwal has been slapped multiple times in the past during political rallies and often the person who slaps is found to be AAP supporter. Sometimes, Kejriwal also pays a visit to the slapper and offers his forgiveness in media presence. While the public has a way to see through the pattern of being repeatedly slapped and forgiving thereafter, the stunts have reduced any credibility for the AAP leader and are widely considered a farce to garner public sympathy.

Lettergate

AAP candidate Atishi Marlena accused BJP candidate Gautam Gambhir of spreading derogatory notes about her by distributing abusive pamphlets that also called Manish Sisodia ‘handsome’. Although they could never establish who distributed these pamphlets, Atishi also shed a couple of tears which was widely believed to be a bad performance act. Consequently, Atishi lost the election.

Somnath gate

AAP leader Somnath Bharti has been infamous for his vigilante justice and was indicted in Khirki midnight He was the prime time news when he went absconding after allegations from his wife of domestic violence. Later he surrendered dramatically holding Constitution in one hand. Once during a live debate, he abused a lady journalist and told her she should be a prostitute. He is again contesting the MLA election from Malviya Nagar this year.

LG dharna

Delhi was shamed in Fe 2018 when Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash was allegedly assaulted by AAP MLAs in presence of CM Arvind Kejriwal. As a result, bureaucrats started boycotting meetings with Delhi ministers that impacted the governance of Delhi. So, instead of engaging constructively on this issue, Kejriwal went on a confrontational dharna at the LG’s residence for 8 days which garnered great TRPs on media but ultimately he had to give up ensuring the safety of IAS officers.

Shunglu Committee

The Committee formed by LG Najeeb Jung had indicted AAP Government on appointments at various levels based on corruption and nepotism. It questioned appointments of various persons including Satyandra Jain’s daughter, Nikung Agrawal, Swati Maliwal, Abhinav Rai and Rahul Bhasin, all relatives of Kejriwal or other AAP members. Earlier, AAP had been accused of doing ‘favours’ to various journalists by appointing them Governing bodies of various colleges in Delhi University.

I am sorry

AAP leaders had since their IAC days, labelled various allegations against many senior politicians of various political parties, which was their road to fame. But they swallowed more than they could chew as they could not prove these allegations against many. Some are dead already including late CM Sheila Dikshit and against some, Kejriwal has formally apologized, including Nitin Gadkari, Majithia and Kapil Sibal.

After all these excessive prime time news debates, we all now remember AAP for raising questions on surgical strikes and standing up with JNU Tukde Tukde gang, mostly because Urban Naxals are the latest trend since Shaheen Bagh farce. All their previous misdeeds are forgotten and by extension, forgiven.

On a scale of 1 to 11, how much did you score in the area of public memory?

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