New Delhi, Jan 26 (IANS): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday criticised Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal after the former Delhi chief minister expressed wonder over the Election Commission's move to remove the Punjab Police from the national capital and deploy Gujarat Police.
Taking to X, Kejriwal posted an order copy and wrote: "Read this order from Gujarat Police. The Election Commission has removed Punjab Police from Delhi and deployed Gujarat Police. What is going on?"
Hitting back at the AAP leader, BJP's IT Department in-charge Amit Malviya wrote on X: "Is this your first election or are you nervous about losing the election? "
The BJP leader said that it is standard practice to deploy state police forces alongside CAPF for election duties.
"Even for Delhi elections, police forces from 12 states and union territories, including Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar, Haryana, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra have been mobilised.
"Additionally, Punjab Police was withdrawn from your personal security. It is worth noting that you and Delhi are not synonymous," Malviya wrote on X.
Kejriwal's post also drew the attention of Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi who hit out at the former Delhi CM, saying "Now I understand why people call you a fraud!"
Taking to X, Sanghavi wrote: "Kejriwal ji as a former Chief Minister, I'm surprised you're not aware of the Election Commission's norms. They've requested forces from various states, not just Gujarat. In fact, the Election Commission of India has ordered SRP deployment from various states, a routine procedure. As per their request, 8 companies of SRP from Gujarat were sent to Delhi for the scheduled election on 11/1/25. Why the selective mention of Gujarat, Kejriwal ji?"
Election for the 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to be held on February 5. The ballots will be counted on February 8.
The AAP, eyeing a return to power for the third consecutive time, faces a stiff challenge from a resurgent BJP.
The Congress, which failed to make much of an impact in the previous edition of elections, is also looking to put up a better performance this time.