'Scared' BJP jailed Kejriwal to stop him from campaigning in LS polls: CM Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said the ruling BJP was afraid of his Aam Aadmi Party colleague and Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in jail in connection with a excise policy linked case.

The BJP has jailed him in a completely false case to stop him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls, said Mann, who held a road show for his party's Bharuch candidate Chaitar Vasava.

"They put him in jail just before the elections because they wanted to stop Arvind Kejriwal from campaigning. BJP and Narendra Modi are scared of AAP and Arvind Kejriwal. But they don't know that Arvind Kejriwal is not just a person, he is an idea," Mann claimed.

"They can never stop a thought. They can only keep the person in jail. Vasava was similarly jailed by the BJP because he fights for the people and their rights. But he is out now and fighting for what is right," he said.

Vasava was jailed in a rioting case in November last year and later released on bail by the High Court.

The BJP is so scared that it got Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren arrested, froze the bank accounts of opposition parties and is using the governors of non-BJP ruled states to do their dirty work, Mann alleged.

"The Punjab governor creates obstacles in the works of the state government. The governor of Tamil Nadu does the same. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee is also facing difficulties. Because the BJP is a dictatorial party, they want to finish the Constitution of Babasaheb Ambedkar. They want to finish off our democracy," Mann asserted.

"In Surat, the Congress candidate withdrew his nomination. They (BJP) bought off independent candidates and won unopposed. Constitutionally there should have been an election because even in the absence of other candidates there is NOTA (none of the above) option to a voter," he opined.

The first two phases of the Lok Sabha polls has given a shock to the BJP, which is no longer using the slogan 'abki baar 400 paar', the Punjab CM claimed.

The INDIA bloc, of which the AAP and Congress are constituents, is winning both the phases easily, he added.