Kejriwal meets detained TDP MPs, offers help

NEW DELHI: In a surprise move, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday visited Tughlak Road police station to meet Telugu Desam Party MPs detained by police while marching towards the official residence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The MPs were demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
Kejriwal justified TDP’s demands for special status and put the blame for the detention of the MPs on Modi. “It is very sad that when the MPs went to meet the PM, he got them detained instead of giving them an audience. This is not democracy, it is arrogance. We condemn this,” he said.

The Telugu Desam Party MPs were bundled into a bus by police and CRPF personnel from Race Course Road from where they had started the march and sent to Tughlak Road police station.
During the informal meet, Kejriwal expressed his support to the MPs. “The demand being made by AP government and TDP for special status to the state is completely justified. It should be granted. We support the demand,” he added.

The show of solidarity comes four days after a meeting between Kejriwal and Telugu Desam Party president and AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu in Delhi where the two CMs discussed the prevailing political situation, the demand of AP for special category status, among other issues. Interestingly, the meeting was held after Telugu Desam Party pulled out of BJP-led NDA setting the tone for new political alignments.

With Naidu hitting out at the PM, Kejriwal has found it convenient to cosy up to the Andhra Pradesh chief minister in the middle of the new undercurrents for the union of regional political parties against BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.