After Meeting PM, Kejriwal Appeared to Have Given 'Clean Chit' to Centre on Delhi Violence: Congress

The Congress on Tuesday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he sounded like he was there to give a clean chit to the Centre and the PM over the communal riots in the national capital.

Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said it seemed, from the way Kejriwal spoke to the media after meeting the prime minister, that "AAP was not the BJP's B-Team but it was the saffron party's team".

The Delhi chief minister called on the prime minister and discussed the situation in the riot-hit northeast Delhi. Kejriwal said he had requested Modi that those responsible for the violence, irrespective of party affiliation, "should not be spared".

It was Kejriwal's first meeting with Modi after the Aam Aadmi Party returned to power in the national capital for a third consecutive term.

"The body language and the words of the Delhi Chief Minister sounded like he was there to give an official clean chit to the ruling party, the Centre and the Prime Minister," Singhvi said at a press conference.

He slammed Kejriwal for not raising the issue of hate speeches by BJP leaders in Delhi with the prime minister.

"Did the CM seek registration of FIRs forthwith, did he say the Home Minister (Amit Shah) should either resign or be reined in, did he by name demand action against Kapil Mishra. It seemed to me that a supporter of the BJP or a member of the Union council of ministers was speaking after he met the PM," Singhvi said.

"What is this weakness, what is this helplessness, what is this compulsion, what is this secret, what is this mystery, what is the mystery of this new found friendship, this support and why has the CM of Delhi succumbed or surrendered in this clear, crass manner," the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Describing the meeting as a courtesy call by him after being reelected as chief minister, Kejriwal said he sought the prime minister's help for the development of Delhi.

On February 25, Home Minister Shah discussed the situation after the violence in Delhi with Kejriwal and leaders of various parties.

The AAP formed the government in Delhi for the third time on the trot after it swept the February 8 elections, winning 62 of the 70 seats. The BJP bagged the rest of the seats.

Large-scale violence in northeast Delhi has left more than 42 people dead and 200 injured.