Kejriwal Calls on PM Modi, Discusses Delhi Violence & Coronavirus

File image of Arvind Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/PMOIndia) 

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Parliament on Tuesday, 3 March, for the first time after taking charge as the CM for a new term.

In the meeting that lasted for about 30 minutes, Kejriwal said they discussed the recent Delhi violence and the preparedness for coronavirus in the National Capital.

“I told him that whoever is found guilty for Delhi violence should be the given strictest punishment,” Kejriwal told ANI.

He further said, "I told him we should try and ensure that such riots do not happen again in the national capital. Those who are responsible for the clashes - whether they belong to any party - should not be spared, I appealed to the prime minister."

“Delhi Police acted in a swift manner to control the situation when rumours were spread on Sunday night. Had police acted with the same efficiency on Monday and Tuesday last week when riots were confined in a district, so many lives could have been saved.”

Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM

The meeting comes on the heels of violence in northeast Delhi over the contentious amended citizenship law, which killed at least 47 people and injured more than 200.

Kejriwal appeared to have given 'clean chit' to Centre on Delhi violence: Congress

In a press conference on Tuesday, 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 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.”

Abhishek Manu Singhvi

"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 added.

After winning the Assembly polls in the national capital, Kejriwal had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on 19 February. The meeting went on for over 20 minutes at Shah's residence.

Shortly after the meeting, Kejriwal took to Twitter and stated that they discussed several issues related to Delhi and that both of them have agreed to work together for Delhi’s development.

Earlier, Kejriwal had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his swearing-in ceremony, but the PM skipped the event as he was inaugurating various projects in Varanasi.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) scored a resounding victory in the Delhi Assembly elections, bagging 62 out of 70 seats, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coming a distant second with just eight seats.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)