No party has been targeted as much as AAP: Arvind Kejriwal on party's foundation day

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Pic/PTI

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday wished AAP workers on the party's foundation day and remembered party leaders Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh, who, he said, are in jail in "false cases".

He also said the AAP has been the "most targeted" party in the past 11 years.

Addressing a press conference virtually, Kejriwal, who is also the AAP national convenor, shared that in 2012, on the Constitution Day, people came together to establish the Aam Aadmi Party.

He said the party faced many ups and downs in the past 11 years.

Kejriwal claimed that in the India's history no other political party has been targeted as much as the AAP has been targeted.

"In the past 11 years, they (BJP) have filed more than 250 fake cases against us. They left no agency untouched, including the ED, CBI, IT, and Delhi Police. They used all the agencies of the country against the AAP. But they have found no evidence against us, not a penny has been recovered. This is the biggest certificate of our honesty," he asserted.

Reminiscing the party's journey, he said it emerged from the womb of a movement and transformed from a small party to, gradually, becoming a national party. "It became the fastest-growing party in the history of India. This is nothing short of a miracle. In these 11 years, the public has given us a lot of love. With the blessings of the public and the hard work of the party workers, governments were formed in two states, and MLAs were elected in two other states. Today, the AAP is being talked about in every corner of the country. There is an Aam Aadmi Party worker, whether it's in Kashmir or Kerala, Gujarat or Arunachal. This is a remarkable thing," he noted.

The AAP supremo said though it was a happy day, he was still a little sad because he missed Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendar Jain.

"Today, my heart is heavy. This is the first foundation day when Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair are not with us. They have been accused in fake cases. The BJP knows how to bend leaders of other parties by filing fake cases against them, but they cannot bend the AAP," he said.

He asserted that to this day, not a single party MLA or leader has been bought or broken.

"Their families have also not been broken, they stood by us. Many big people tried to bend our leaders, saying, 'meet Modi Ji, compromise, we'll arrange for mediation'. But not a single one of our leaders bent. We are proud of our leaders' integrity. Today, we salute their struggle," Kejriwal said.

He said they are disciples of Bhagat Singh, walking on the path of truth.

"Working towards making our country number 1 in the world, we will sacrifice thousands of lives for our motherland if needed. We may die, but we won't compromise. Today, we want to tell everyone associated with the AAP that even to make the country survive, one must be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice," he said.

Whereas elections in our country have always been fought based on religion and caste, today the discussion is about education and healthcare, the Delhi CM said.

"No matter how many insults our opponents hurl at us, today they also know that the AAP has changed the country's politics," he added.

Later, in a post on X in Hindi, Kejriwal said, "Today, a small party has been transformed into a national party by the people with their love and blessings. The blessings of the public are with us, we all will continue to move forward with our strong intentions and work for the public. Best wishes to all the workers on the foundation day of the party."

The AAP is currently in power in Delhi and Punjab and is striving to spread its base in several other states.

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