Atishi asserts she was approached to join the BJP, alleges four additional AAP members will face arrest

She accused the BJP of plotting to apprehend her, along with Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, and party MLA Durgesh Pathak.

In New Delhi, Atishi, a Delhi minister, claimed today that four more prominent members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) are slated for arrest within the next two months. She accused the BJP of orchestrating this through central agencies in an effort to quash the AAP. Atishi alleged that the BJP intends to arrest her, along with Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP MP Raghav Chadha, and party MLA Durgesh Pathak.

She informed the media, "I've been contacted by a close associate, allegedly on behalf of the BJP, urging me to join their party, claiming it would safeguard my political future. They've warned that failure to comply will result in my arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within a month."

Atishi revealed that the individual representing the BJP conveyed that the ruling party is determined to "crush everyone in AAP." She continued, "First, they put everyone in AAP's leadership in jail. Satyendra Jain, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and now Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have been arrested. The BJP intends to apprehend four additional AAP leaders within the upcoming two months. This includes myself, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, and Raghav Chadha.

Regarding Mr. Kejriwal's arrest, Atishi noted that the BJP initially expected AAP to fragment but altered their perspective after the recent rally at Ramlila Maidan. She declared, "We stand as Arvind Kejriwal's loyalists and won't yield to the BJP's intimidations."

Atishi mentioned the ED's claim in court that Mr. Kejriwal had alleged AAP's former communication boss Vijay Nair reported to her and Mr. Bharadwaj. She speculated, "This information is already in ED's and CBI's chargesheets. It's conceivable that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) included our names to facilitate the arrest of the second tier of AAP leadership.

The BJP dismissed Atishi's accusations as "baseless." Party leader RP Singh countered, alleging an internal conflict within AAP over the chief minister post. He stated, "It is clear that the fight for the CM post has begun in AAP. Saurabh Bharadwaj and Atishi align together, while Sunita Kejriwal and Arvind Kejriwal stand on the opposing side.

These allegations and counter-allegations between Atishi and the BJP are the latest developments in the ongoing confrontations between AAP and BJP leaders following Mr. Kejriwal's arrest in a money laundering case related to Delhi's now-repealed liquor policy. Kejriwal has been remanded in judicial custody until April 15 and transferred to Delhi's Tihar jail, with the ED asserting his non-cooperation in the investigation.