Only 4 AAP leaders see Kejriwal as Modi's alternative: BJP's Parvesh Verma

As AAP leaders have begun projecting their party chief Arvind Kejriwal as an alternative to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, BJP MP Parvesh Verma on Saturday hit back saying claims made by "four people" should not be taken seriously.

"Was there a survey by any news channel? Was any survey conducted among the people on whether Kejriwal can challenge Modi? This is being said by four AAP members -Saurabh Bhardwaj, Sanjay Singh, Atishi and Raghav Chadha. Who else is saying this?" Verma said in reply to a question at a press conference.

"If there is some survey among the people of the country, if they say Kejriwal could be (an alternative), we will accept it. How can you accept anything said by just four people" he asked.

Verma also alleged that some of the accused in the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with excise policy "scam" were close to AAP leaders.

At a press conference earlier in the day, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had said, "People have a question in mind: Modi vs Who? Now, the entire country believes that they do not want Modi to be in power anymore. People now have a worthy opponent in Kejriwal."

The assertion from Sisodia came in the backdrop of a raid at his residence by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in Excise Policy 2021-22.

"The action taken against me was premeditated and scripted by the BJP.They have a problem with Kejriwal, not with corruption. The whole country wants to give Kejriwal a chance in 2024. So, the BJP is trying to defame him by sending his education and health ministers to jail," Sisodia, who also holds education and health portfolios among others, alleged.

Satyendar Jain, who was the health minister in the Delhi government before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) two months ago in a money laundering case, is currently in judicial custody.