Kejriwal smells conspiracy as he hits Punjab poll trail

Battling dissidence and allegations of sleaze and corruption against his MLAs, Arvind Kejriwal today arrived in Punjab to give a fresh push to AAP's assembly poll campaign amid heckling by rivals and voiced apprehension about more muck being thrown at the party in the run up to the elections.
Aam Aadmi Party is making its maiden electoral foray outside Delhi where it swept the assembly polls in 2015 winning 67 of the 70 seats, decimating BJP which managed to win just three seats.
Addressing journalists in Ludhiana, Kejriwal, AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister, accused Punjab's ruling Badal family of conspiring to discredit his party by levelling false accusations.

"Polls in Punjab are round the corner. When I had come to Punjab last time and during my visits earlier also, people of the state had warned me, saying when polls will draw near Sukhbir Singh Badal will hatch some conspiracy against you (AAP), CDs will come to fore, accusations will be made, people will protest etc. Now that time has started, 2-3 people get together (on a routine basis) and level any accusation," he claimed.
"I have come to know that Sukhbir Badal has got 63 fake CDs made against us, he has hired a video company, which comes out with 2-4 CDs now and then," he claimed.

"Now, everyday these 2-3 CDs will come, accusations will be levelled against us, but I am happy that people of Punjab are wise, they fully understand the conspiracy and the gameplan of the Badals.

"But people of Punjab are wise, they know Sukhbir Badal is behind it and no one is going to believe or listen to them," he said.
Kejriwal, who was earlier heckled by BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal and Congress activists at the New Delhi and Ludhiana railway stations over allegations of misconduct against AAP leaders as he embarked on a 4-day visit to Punjab, asserted neither he nor his party was going to be "cowed down" by such protests or CDs and accusations being "manufactured" by his rivals.

Activists led by Delhi BJP women's wing president Kamaljeet Sehrawat and party spokesman Praveen Kapoor raised slogans and waved bangles towards Kejriwal, who arrived at platform number 1 at New Delhi railway station to board a train for Punjab around 7 AM.
Some protesters jostled with the policemen and Kejriwal was caught in the melee. They demanded that Kejriwal speak on the alleged "misconduct" of his MLAs and expel Ashutosh for his controversial blog defending Sandeep Kumar, who was sacked as minister over an alleged sex scandal.
Blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Delhi Police for the alleged manhandling of the Chief Minister at the hands of women protesters of the BJP, the Aam Aadmi Party said the law enforcement agency was a "mute spectator" during the "pre-planned" episode.