‘Modiji, desh aapke pitaji ka nahi hai’: Kejriwal compared PM to Gen Dyer, the butcher of Jallianwala Bagh

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal launched a sharp verbal attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (July 21), telling him that the people of India could teach “dictators” a historic lesson.

“A short while ago, the police under the Modi government issued a press release stating that they would register FIRs against everyone who participated in yesterday’s protest,” Kejriwal said.

“Modi ji, ye desh aapke pitaji ka nahi hai, 140 crore logon ka hai. Dhamki dena band karo, nahin toh desh ke log aisa mazaa chakhayenge ki ithihas yaad rakhega ki kya haal, kya hashr hua tha ek taanashah ka is desh ke andar,” Kejriwal said at a press conference.

(“Modi ji, this country is not your fiefdom; it belongs to 140 crore Indians. Stop threatening, otherwise they will teach you a lesson that history will remember as the fate that befell a dictator in this country.”)

“The way the Modi government brutally attacked the children and youth of our country yesterday, I believe history has never witnessed anything like this,” the former Chief Minister of Delhi said.

“Modi ji has surpassed even the British [in oppressing the people]. Perhaps even the British never carried out lathicharges or attacks on freedom fighters in the way the Modi government attacked our own children yesterday,” he said.

Kejriwal referred to videos on social media that showed several students and young women pleading before the police with folded hands, whom the police continued to beat anyway.

“I saw one video where two or three policemen were standing by the roadside, striking every child who walked past with batons. These children were doing nothing. They were not attacking anyone, they were just walking past, yet they were being beaten indiscriminately,” he said.

“There are also videos showing tear gas shells being fired at groups of 20-25 students who were merely sitting peacefully, where there was absolutely no need for such action,” Kejriwal said.

The AAP chief accused the Delhi Police of registering fake FIRs against young people. “Many parents have been crying and searching for their children. They have alleged that police have taken their children to some jail or other location, but no one is telling them where they are,” he said.

Kejriwal compared Modi to Reginald Dyer, the British military official who had ordered the firing at Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919, in which several hundred unarmed Indians were massacred.

“Such brutality (of July 20) has never been seen before. It feels as though even what General Dyer did at Jallianwala Bagh has been surpassed by Modi ji. Some people are even saying that perhaps General Dyer has been reborn in the form of Modi ji,” Kejriwal said.

The former CM announced that the AAP had formed a legal team to help the protesters and their parents.

“If necessary, we will arrange for the best lawyers in the country to represent your children. There is no need to be afraid. Modi ji, keep your threats to yourself. This country is not going to be intimidated by your threats. All 140 crore people are united. You have attacked the youth and children of this nation. The entire country stands together,” Kejriwal said.

He said that a helpline – 8588833548 – had been set up to assist parents and relatives who were unable to reach their near ones after the protest, and urged people to reach out to the AAP for legal and medical help.

Kejriwal said he would be visiting RML Hospital to meet those who were injured. He said he would also visit the Parliament Street police station and ask the police for a list of all FIRs registered in connection with the protest, including the names of those against whom they have been filed, as well as a list of all those who have been detained without an FIR.

On his own absence from the protest, Kejriwal said he had to travel to Punjab for unavoidable reasons but his son and daughter had participated for four-five hours, and faced tear gas fired by the police.

“They were present where tear gas shells were fired. All our leaders were there. The entire AAP and our entire family were there. We are all together. The whole country is one family of 140 crore people. There is no need to fear these dictators. We are united, and we will continue to fight together,” Kejriwal said.