On June 11, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stooped to another low by insinuating that Balasore train tragedy happened because Bhagwan Shiv opened his third eye after seeing what had been happening to the country after people elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kejriwal is currently roaming across the country to gather “support” from the opposition leaders against the Union Government’s ordinance against the Supreme Court’s directive giving power to Delhi Government to appoint and transfer bureaucrats.
मोदी से नाराज़ होकर शिव जी ने अपनी तीसरी आँख खोली और बालासोर ट्रेन दुर्घटना में 280 लोगों को मार दिया ~ अरविंद केजरीवाल
— ANUPAM MISHRA (@scribe9104) June 11, 2023
जेल के डर से मानसिक रूप से असंतुलित हो चला है बंदाpic.twitter.com/mjmeA3vYXK
During his Ramlila Maidan speech, Kejriwal was visibly frustrated and agitated against the Government of India. He recalled the agitation that started under the leadership of now-sidelined Anna Hazare against the Congress-led UPA-2 government and claimed this is the second such agitation urging his followers to participate. Calling PM Modi an egoist and dictator, he claimed to have launched a campaign to remove BJP from power at the centre.
Kejriwal’s misleading claims about the ordinance
During his address to the public, Kejriwal claimed this was the first time a Prime Minister in India brought an ordinance to overturn Supreme Court’s judgment. He further claimed this was a sign of the end of democracy in the country. Just because an ordinance was passed, he insinuated that democracy ended in Delhi. He further claimed PM Modi changed the constitution of India by tabling the ordinance.
Though Kejriwal claimed this is the first time a judgment passed by the Supreme Court has been overturned, there have been several instances when the Government of India has overturned Supreme Court’s orders.
One of the notable instances was of Shah Bano case of 1986 when the government of India led by Congress under Rajiv Gandhi passed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 that nullified the Supreme Court’s 1985 judgment that upheld Muslim women’s rights to alimony even after the ‘iddat period’ of the waiting period a woman must observe after her husband’s death or divorce.
If Kejriwal had studied the history of India and how ordinances were brought to overturn the apex court’s judgments, he would have known about the very first instance of such an ordinance that was passed in 1961. Reports suggest that in 1951, the apex court held that the State could not reserve seats for providing admission to candidates based on religion, caste, or race. However, in 1961, under the First Amendment of the Constitution of India, the Parliament inserted clause (4) under Article 15, giving the government the power to reserve seats in state-run or state-aided institutions for backward classes.
Under the Modi government, the Parliament brought an ordinance in 2018 overturning the apex court’s judgment in Kashinath Mahajan vs State of Maharashtra, where the court said no arrests under the SC/ST Act could be made without prior permission from the appointing authority in case of public servants, and the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) for others. The court said the FIR should be registered only after a preliminary inquiry. The Modi government overturned the judgment in August 2018 by an amendment inserting Section 18A in the 1989 Act.
Kejriwal claimed he works 24×7, but he does not hold any office
After saying he works nonstop, Kejriwal informed the public that he visited multiple states and talked to leaders of all parties. He claimed all 140 crore Indians were against the ordinance. Just because an ordinance was passed, Kejriwal stopped all the work and went on a country tour to talk to CMs and leaders of other parties. Something he could have done from his office.
Interestingly, Kejriwal does not hold any department in the Delhi government. It is unclear which work he does 24×7 if other ministers are running all the departments. Earlier, Manish Sisodia had the highest number of ministries and departments under him. After he was arrested, ministries and departments held by Sisodia and Satyendra Jain were divided between Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi Marlena. Kejriwal skipped holding any office in the Delhi government.
Kejriwal invoked an “inside” source
Kejriwal claimed he got information from “inside” that a similar ordinance would be passed in Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, among other states. Kejriwal claimed that because PM Modi cannot do any work at the centre, he is not letting Kejriwal do any work. He claimed PM Modi had stopped the construction of schools, hospitals and mohalla clinics.
Notably, Delhi is not a full state. As it is the capital of the country, a lot of offices and powers are held by the LG, and the Union Government plays a vital role in the functioning of the national capital. The case is not the same with states like Rajasthan, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, among other states. The centre cannot and does not interfere in the states’ matters unless the State asks it or there has been an incident that forced the government to impose President’s Rule in the State.
Furthermore, no one is sure how trustworthy Kejriwal’s internal or IB sources are as they told him AAP would win Gujarat, UP, Goa, and other states. Everyone knows what happened to AAP in these states.
The ‘fourth pass king’ rhetoric
Kejriwal again started the same old “Fourth pass king” rhetoric and claimed PM Modi does not know how to run the country as the prices of everything, including petrol, diesel, milk, vegetables, and LPG, have increased. He claimed that one day, PM Modi brought Rs 2,000 notes, and then after five years, he canceled the notes. “He cannot decide what to do,” claimed Kejriwal.
He further asked his followers to compare PM Modi’s work since 2002, when he became CM of Gujarat, to date as PM of the country, to Kejriwal’s work as CM of Delhi. He claimed though PM Modi tried to stop the work in Delhi, he established many schools and hospitals. In August 2022, it was revealed in an RTI no new hospital was built by the Kejriwal government.
The Sisodia and Jain Saga
He also accused PM Modi of sending Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia to jail as he wanted to hinder the work being done by the Delhi government. Contrary to his claims, Jain was found to be allegedly involved in money laundering, and Sisodia has been named as the key conspirator in the alleged liquor policy scam.
Kejriwal asked people to propagate the “fourth pass king” story
Kejriwal said, “Many years ago, a child was born in a poor house. An astrologer told the child’s mother that her son would become a king. The child grew and left the school after the fourth class as he did not develop an interest in education. He started selling tea at a railway station near his house. The kid was a great orator. He used to gather children and give speeches for hours. Soon he became famous for his orator skills.”
Further, he added, “As the astrologer said, the child became the King. But the King was uneducated. Officers would come and get his signs on anything. Being an egoist, King did not ask anything about what he was signing on. He thought it would hurt his reputation. When people started to find out about his qualifications, he arranged a fake degree of MA.”
एक चौथी पास राजा की कहानी। इसे ज़्यादा से ज़्यादा सुनें, सुनाएँ और शेयर करें… pic.twitter.com/UZzgUAeNiL
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 11, 2023
“One day someone told him to demonetise 500-1000 rupee notes, which would end black money, corruption and terrorism, and he did. But it brought the country to its knees. Businesses closed down, people died while standing in front of the banks, employment ended, and industries closed down. As the King was uneducated, he followed the suggestions of the people to bring Rs 2,000 notes and cancel them. He was stupid. One day people asked him to bring agriculture laws. All farmers across the country protested, and he had to take back the laws”, Kejriwal continued
“When the country was going through a pandemic, someone told him the country would heal if he got everyone to bang ‘thali’. He did the same. But the pandemic stayed. Then someone came and told him that doctors and medicines could cure people. The King had many friends. One of them looted 10,000 crores; King helped him escape the country. The second one looted 20,000 crores; King helped him run the country. One friend was close to him. He sold all the airports, seaports and ships to him. One more friend harassed international players, but the King did not act. Another friend killed farmers by mowing them down, but the King did not take any action”, he added.
Then Kejriwal came to his controversial comment about Lord Shiv. He said, “The King jailed everyone who drew cartoons of him or wrote against him. The King also took action against judges who spoke against him. Devtas were looking at the earth, seeing what was happening. They approached Bhagwan Shiv to end the misery. Bhagwan Shiv opened his third eye, and strange things started happening in the country. Strong winds tore down large and heavy statues of Sapt Rishis. A train accident took place, killing 288 people. One day, rains came down from the heavens, and Akashvani told people to gather and stand against him. The public woke up and removed the King in one year.”
Concluding his story, he said, “It is a holy story. Listening to it and telling others this story will bring prosperity to your home and country.”
