The Delhi Assembly on Saturday passed a vote of confidence initiated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to poach Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs to destabilise his government.
The House passed the motion of confidence, conducted via a voice vote, with 54 of the 62 AAP MLAs present during the session. Kejriwal also asserted that no AAP MLA had defected. Two MLAs are in jail, some are unwell and some others are out of station, he said.
"We have a majority in the House but this confidence motion was needed because the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs," said Kejriwal during a discussion on the trust vote.
The AAP national convenor also termed his party the biggest challenger to the BJP, and that is why it has been under attack from all sides.
"The way they (BJP) have attacked the AAP and arrested our ministers; people across the country are aware of this. They think that people are fool, but they are not. Now discussions are being held in parks and people are asking 'does PM Modi want to crush Arvind Kejriwal'?... Our number two, number three, number four are in jail, and talks are being held that soon number one will be arrested. This is happening because AAP is BJP's biggest challenger in the entire nation."
Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister
Kejriwal asserted that the BJP thought it could finish the AAP by arresting him. The chief minister said he has faced attacks in the past, been slapped, had ink thrown at him, and now they want to arrest him.
"You may arrest me but how will you finish Kejriwal's thoughts?" he asked.
The Delhi chief minister alleged that the BJP, through control over the services department and the bureaucracy, was obstructing the work of his government.
"They claim to be Ram Bhakt, but they stopped medicines for the poor people in our hospitals. Did Lord Ram ask for stopping medicines for the poor people?" he said.
Kejriwal also proclaimed that the AAP "will free country from BJP" in 2029 elections, even if the saffron party wins this year's Lok Sabha polls.
"If the BJP is afraid about its future, then it is only because of the AAP. That's why they want to break the AAP. If the BJP doesn't lose the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, then the AAP will surely make the country free of the BJP by 2029. The AAP was formed just 12 years ago. There are nearly 1,350 parties in the country. The AAP had applied for its registration on November 26, 2012, it has now become the third largest party in the country after the BJP and Congress," he said.
The Delhi CM said several MLAs explained how they were contacted and offered money to switch sides, allegedly by "BJP people."
"On contacting our MLAs, we found out that they tried to poach seven of our legislators. These MLAs today said in the House that they were approached (by the BJP). As Rajesh Gupta said, they (BJP) want us to show proof. How can we show proof? A person doesn't carry a tape recorder all the time. They feel that the party (AAP) will collapse once Arvind Kejriwal is arrested. They can arrest Kejriwal but how will they arrest Kejriwal's thinking?" Kejriwal said during the trust vote.
This is the third motion of confidence by the Kejriwal government in the last three years. It comes amid the AAP's claims that the BJP wanted to break the party by offering money to its MLAs and toppling its government in Delhi.
The previous confidence motions came in August 2022 and March 2023, amid AAP allegations that the BJP was carrying out "Operation Lotus" to poach its MLA.
The AAP has an overwhelming majority in the Delhi Assembly, with 62 MLAs in the 70-member House. The opposition BJP has eight MLAs, of whom seven are currently suspended.
Tabling the motion of confidence on Friday, Kejriwal said, "Two MLAs had come to me saying they were contacted by BJP members offering them Rs 25 crore each. They were told that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be arrested and the government will be toppled."
"They were also told that the BJP is in touch with 21 MLAs. They have made multiple attempts to approach our MLAs under 'Operation Lotus'. Even this time, our MLAs refused to budge," he had added.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)