There has been speculation for long that Arvind Kejriwal could be fielded by the Aam Aadmi Party against the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. On Monday, the former Delhi chief minister hinted as much when he said, for the first time, that communalism is a bigger challenge for India than even corruption. He was speaking at the India Islamic Cultural Centre in Delhi.
Arvind Kejriwal. PTI
Corruption, the single-point agenda of the Aam Aadmi Party until now, was oddly not the focus of his speech as Kejriwal spoke of communalism, the absence of Muslim candidates in AAP's first list of candidates for the Lok Sabha elections and more.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Kejriwal said, "Communalism is a bigger problem in front of the country than corruption and it is never about people fighting each other. It is political parties who pit communities against one another for narrow electoral gains. But the truth is, neither has BJP ever done anything for Hindus nor Congress for Muslims."
A report in DNA quoted him as saying, "Communalism is a bigger problem than corruption because corruption only results in loss of money but due to communalism people lose their lives and families are shattered."
The AAP leader was accompanied by former journalist Ashutosh who is set to contest from Chandni Chowk, currently represented by Union Minister Kapil Sibal. Ashutosh reportedly asked those gathered not to trust a man who flies to Patna to meet victims of blasts but does not visit Gulberg Society a few miles from where he lives.
One of the organisers of the event also requested Kejriwal to set up an SIT to probe the multiple riot cases in which Muslims were victims if AAP comes to power. A report in The Times of India said Kejriwal promised that 23,500 cases of rioting across the country would be reinvestigated by SITs if his party comes to power at the Centre.
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