Poisonous leaders sparking communal tension, only aam aadmi can save country: Kejriwal

New Delhi: In the wake of the Dadri lynching, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday blamed “poisonous leaders” and “dirty politics” for sparking communal tension and said that only the ‘aam aadmi’ can save the country from such insidious agenda. [caption id=“attachment_2459352” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. AFP[/caption] As tension continues to simmer in Bishada village in Uttar Pradesh over the lynching of Mohammed Iqlakh, Kejriwal on Wednesday observed that the events of one night had shattered its decades-old syncretic culture and “irrevocably” destroyed several families living there. Without taking any names, Kejriwal said that those who are seeking to benefit from Iqlakh’s lynching - over which police have arrested a “few boys of Hindu families” - were a few political parties and leaders and not the members of any particular community. “Hindu-Muslims have been staying together in this village (Bishada) for the last 70 years. Even the children did not fight. But everything was destroyed within a night, trust of 70 years stood shattered,” he said in an audio message. The Delhi Chief Minister, who had visited Bishada village last week, decried the old tactics of instigating riots by “slaughtering a cow to inflame Hindus’ passion and pig for inciting Muslims”. “It has become so easy for them to instigate riots… if all of us, Hindus and Muslims, stop paying heed to the statements of these few poisonous leaders, then we will be able to put an end to their dirty politics,” Kejriwal said. He said that the key for a better future lay in the hands of the common man and a responsible media, which should stop relaying the “toxic statements” of such leaders. “If we continue to listen to them, neither Hindus and Muslims will survive and nor would the country. Only one man can save the country, ‘Aam Aadmi’. The key is in your hands. Please save the country,” he said. Meanwhile, reacting sharply to the audio message by the AAP chief, Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay demanded that it be withdrawn “at the earliest”. “Is he not a political leader? Does he not represent a political party? By engaging in such name calling, he can’t separate himself from the rest of the lot. “By coming up with such ads, they (AAP) are disturbing the atmosphere,” Upadhyay said. He further questioned the timing of the audio statement and wondered whether it had been released “keeping Bihar polls in mind”. “Kejriwal talks about issues concerning other states and not his own. Do you see any other CM doing that? Probably the dream of being a ‘National Leader’ is still there. It would be nice if he raises issues linked to the ‘Aam Aadmi’ of Delhi,” he said. PTI