 "Kejriwal")
The BJP demanded on Tuesday that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal should apologise to the nation and dismiss his jailed minister Satyendar Jain over fresh allegations related to a massage video.
The tirade came after sources claimed that the masseur, who was seen in video footage giving a massage to Jain, was not a physiotherapist, but an inmate who is lodged in the Tihar Jail in a rape case.
The Aam Aadmi Party, which drew flak over the videos, had asserted earlier that Jain was receiving physiotherapy in the jail, where he is in judicial custody for the past five months over money laundering charges.
At a press conference around afternoon, BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia dared Kejriwal to respond to the fresh allegations "within an hour".
He termed the AAP an "arajak aparadhi' party (anarchist criminal party), accusing it of defending the wrongdoing in the jail.
"Arvind Kejriwal should apologise to the entire nation," Bhatia said. "Satyendar Jain shouldn't retain the post of a Delhi minister for a minute anymore."
The BJP leader demanded that Kejriwal should resign if "his shoulders are too weak" to carry the responsibility of dismissing Jain after the "massage episode".
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Jain could be seen in the purported videos getting back and foot massages in his cell, reading some documents and talking to visitors while lying on a bed. Water bottles and a remote are also seen. In one video, he was seen getting a head massage while sitting on a chair.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had claimed that Jain was receiving physiotherapy following a spinal injury and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of doing "cheap" politics on health issues by illegally leaking CCTV footage.
Bhatia said Sisodia, who is "himself the number one accused in the liquor scam", is saying that one should not make fun of someone's illness. But, he has not told what Jain was doing with four people despite being a prisoner, he asked.
The national spokesperson of the saffron party also questioned about the attire worn by Jain in jail and said, "If a prisoner gets facilities like mineral water, TV and AC, then, how is it wrong to raise questions on it".
Bhatia said if there is any medical issue faced by anyone, then medical facility can be provided as per the jail manual, but every facility is being given to him (Jain), "flouting the law".
Later, the Delhi BJP issued a statement, alleging that Kejriwal keeping Jain in the cabinet despite such a "huge corruption" is a proof that whatever crime Jain has committed, Kejriwal is "also guilty of it along with him".
Earlier Jain was "collecting protection money, and now he is taking protection massage", Bhatia charged.
Earlier in the day, AAP leader Gopal Rai alleged that the BJP was highlighting matters related to Sisodia and Jain and other sting operations since it does not have any issues to raise in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi polls.
Bhatia said it is surprising that the person who gave massage to Jain is jailed under the POCSO Act, and he is accused of raping a minor.
Under the protection of Kejriwal, his own minister "circumvents the law" and meets with other accused and takes their services. This is just a "protection massage which is being done to protect that accused", he alleged.
The BJP leader said Kejriwal's "silence" on all these facts shows that now all his "secrets have been exposed". Instead of giving justice to that girl, Kejriwal is getting that accused to "offer massage to his minister", he charged.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
