East Delhi Lok Sabha BJP MP Maheish Girri called off his hunger strike outside Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's official residence on Tuesday afternoon with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh offering him a glass of juice.
Girri had on Sunday gone on a hunger strike, accusing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener of levelling baseless allegations on him in connection with New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) official M.M. Khan's murder to get rid of the corruption charges, and asking the chief minister to prove charges against him.
Talking to reporters after ending his hunger strike, Girri said, "I got a clean chit from Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who himself came here to offer me juice. What could be bigger proof (of his innocence) than that; Obama (U.S. President Barack Obama) won't come here; we cannot ask him (Obama) for it (clean chit). All investigative agencies come under the Union Home Ministry."
When asked why not Kejriwal came for a debate, he said, "It is his defeat. Now people know that he is a 'bhagoda' (absconder). I am again challenging him that he could not come here, but he could call me for a debate at a place of his choice (tumhara jagah, tumhare log, media bula lo main aa jaonga; sabot de do)."
Talking about the alleged letter written by him to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, he said: "Which letter you are talking about? Why do not the media ask him (Kejriwal)? I feel that the media too has gone to 'K.G.' (Class) with Arvind Kejriwal. Why don't you ask where is the letter? He waves a paper and the media go berserk. He should show it."
Meanwhile, BJP's Delhi unit chief Satish Upadhyay said, "This fight is definitely between truth and falsehood for the self respect. Maheish Girri is an excuse, there are hundreds like him whose character was assassinated by them (AAP). We will make the people of Delhi aware of the truth through signature campaign, demonstrations and sit-ins and will also expose the Delhi government's involvement in corruption cases to make it clear that this government is not at all concerned with development of Delhi."
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Kejriwal had earlier flatly refused Girri's demand of having an "open debate" in MM Khan's murder case.
"Is there an open debate in a murder case? Is this the criminal justice system of the BJP wherein they allow the accused of a murder case to sit in protest in front of Kejriwal's residence? I think this is the message of the Modi Government that anyone who commits a crime by killing a person should come and sit in protest in front of Kejriwal's residence and then the big BJP leaders would come to support the accused," Kejriwal said.
He also used the occasion to train guns at the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Government at the Centre, saying the NDA regime's criminal justice system allows a person to commit the crime and then sit in protest outside Kejriwal's residence.
Khan was shot dead in Jamia Nagar on May 16, a day before he was scheduled to pass the final order on the lease terms of a hotel which was functioning on a property leased out by the civic body.