Be it Narendra Modi or journalists, why Arvind Kejriwal is always angry

Caught in one crisis after another, AAP and Kejriwal have a lot on their plate

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal took to twitter to hit out at veteran journalist Shekhar Gupta over the latter's tweet about the resurgence of Malaria and Chikungunya caused deaths in the capital.

Gupta had tweeted that Delhi was facing Malaria and Chikungunya caused deaths for the first time after five years, while the government in Delhi was more busy "conquering" Punjab, Goa and Gujarat — where Assembly polls are due. 

Taking exception to Gupta's tweet, Kejriwal asked him to step out in the open if he wanted to indulge in politics. Further, Kejriwal alleged that Gupta had worked for the Congress before and now he was trying to promote the Modi government's interests. 

Not stopping there, Kejriwal alleged that people like Gupta had brought a bad name to journalism. The Delhi chief minister ended his response by asking Gupta to focus on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who he said was out to "conquer" the world.

Screenshot of the exchange between Kejriwal and Gupta (Image courtesy: Twitter)

Kejriwal on Tuesday sought to pass the buck on the spread of vector-borne diseases in the city, saying that the Delhi government was "incapable of even buying a pen" as he and his Cabinet colleagues stand "fully stripped of powers".

Kejriwal, who returned from Punjab on Monday, said Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi should be "questioned" over the issue as powers rested with them.

"CM n min left wid no power now, even to buy a pen. LG n PM enjoy all powers wrt Del. LG abroad. Question them for Del, (sic)" he tweeted.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief is not known for pulling punches and has repeatedly taken to twitter in the past to lash out at rivals, including the prime minister.

Specifically, on September 7, journalist Rahul Kanwal took to twitter to defend the government's decision to introduce flexible fares for premium trains such as Rajdhani, Duronto and Shatabdi, in a move similar to surge pricing followed by taxi aggregators and the aviation sector. He said that political attacks against the move were unwarranted and that the relatively well-off passengers using these trains could afford to pay a bit more. 

Kejriwal responded on twitter by alleging that Kanwal was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's spokesman. Kanwal, for his part, did not take the allegation lightly and responded with a furious tweet of his own. 

Gupta's tweet and reports about Malaria and Chikungunya related casualties have caught him at a delicate time.

Return of a menace

As reported earlier, last week, a 30-year-old man became the first victim to die due to malaria in the national capital in the last five years. 

Praveen Sharma, a resident of east Delhi, succumbed to the disease last week despite undergoing treatment. 

According to a report from Monday, Chikungunya cases in the national capital have sharply risen to over 1,000 this season, marking a jump of nearly 90 per cent from its count last week.

According to a municipal report released on Monday, at least 1,057 cases of this vector-borne disease have been recorded till September 10.

September and October are considered the peak season for the spread of vector-borne diseases, including dengue and malaria.

Citing a senior hospital official, PTI reported that Safdarjung Hospital, which received over a thousand patients in its fever clinics till recently, has reported 328 dengue cases and 532 chikungunya cases this season. 

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation, which compiles the vector-borne disease cases report on behalf of all civic bodies here, had till September 3, pegged the total number of chikungunya cases this season at 560.

Hospitals in the city continue to be swamped by patients affected by dengue and chikungunya.

Besides, malaria too has claimed two lives this season and at least 21 people in Delhi have been diagnosed with malarial fever.

Punjab troubles

As reported earlier, after AAP gained substantial ground in Punjab politics during the past few months, things took an ugly turn and the party suffered a blow as senior party leaders accused each other of corruption in ticket distribution late last month.

Assembly elections are expected in Punjab in early 2017 and AAP had announced the names of 32 candidates in two separate lists. According to sources, till late last month, 25 of the 32 candidates declared till then had been facing opposition within the party. The total number of assembly constituencies in Punjab is 117.

AAP leaders from Punjab and other states had accused the then Punjab convener of AAP, Succha Singh Chottepur, of accepting a cash amount of Rs 2 lakh to grant candidature, in a reported video sting operation.

Further, the troubles of the AAP in Punjab have been multiplied with the removal of Chottepur as clashes between pro- and anti-Kejriwal supporters have been reported from different places in Punjab and his counter-attack on the Delhi coterie has brought to the fore the tussle for power within the party.  

The party on Monday suspended its MLA, Devinder Sehrawat, from primary membership after he accused partymen in Punjab of exploiting women in return for tickets.

Legal tangles

Twelve of AAP's MLAs have faced or are facing legal challenges over allegations made against them. 

The latest being Somnath Bharti, who has been accused of allegedly misbehaving with security guards at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) last week.

Not deterred by the allegations, Bharti on Monday dared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'police' to come and arrest him if there was truth to him or his supporters allegedly misbehaving with security guards at AIIMS.

AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan has also been named in an FIR following molestation charges levelled by his sister-in-law. The party refused to accept his resignation on Sunday. 

AAP leader and ousted Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar is currently involved in an alleged rape case. He was on Friday sent to 14-day judicial custody by a court. 

Kumar was arrested on September 3 after a woman had approached Sultanpuri police station in North Delhi complaining of sexual harassment against the former social welfare and women and child development minister, following which a case was filed. The woman had figured in an objectionable video with him.

Further, last week, the Delhi Police registered a complaint against AAP leader Ashutosh for his remarks in his blog in defence of Kumar.

Ashutosh in a blog had referred to the reported relationships of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru with women to defend Kumar over the "objectionable" CD showing him in a compromising position with a woman and claimed that he was sacked as a minister for "perception management".

Setbacks in court

Last week, in a setback to AAP, the Delhi High Court quashed the Arvind Kejriwal-led government's appointment of 21 of its legislators as parliamentary secretaries.

Thursday's order came about a month after the court had held that the lieutenant governor's (LG's) concurrence was mandatory in Delhi's administrative affairs, being executive head of the Union Territory.

This was followed by the Supreme Court's refusal on Friday to stay the August 4 verdict of the Delhi High Court on the LG's powers. 

The Delhi government has filed six appeals challenging the high court judgement that held the LG as the administrative head of the national capital. The apex court on Friday sought response from the Centre on these.

However, despite refusing to stay the order, the Supreme Court said that it would list the matter for final hearing on November 15. 

Putting up a brave face for the party in wake of Friday's developments, AAP Delhi Convenor Dilip Pandey said, "Terming it as a setback would be wrong as Supreme Court has listed the matter for further hearing and also said that it may consider sending the petitions to a larger bench. The party has full faith on the judicial proceedings."