New Delhi: Amid the ongoing sixth phase of Lok Sabha elections in eight states/UT, Pakistani politician Fawad Chaudhry caught the attention of netizens on Saturday after he posted a message for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Though Kejriwal was quick to snub Chaudhry with a terse reply, the matter drew multiple angry reactions from the BJP leaders, who also advised the city residents to ‘vote wisely’.
Kejriwal cast his vote along with his family members on Saturday and also shared a photo on social media.
Fawad Chaudhry, who was a minister in the erstwhile Imran Khan-led government in Pakistan, shared Kejriwal’s post with the caption, “May peace and harmony defeat forces of hate and extremism, ” using the hashtags #MorePower #IndiaElection2024.
The BJP took exception to the former Pakistan minister’s ‘laudatory’ message for Kejriwal and slammed the Delhi Cm for giving a handle to Pakistani politicians to meddle in India’s affairs.
BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla questioned the “relation between India’s enemies and Kejriwal”, as he asked, “Is this why Congress and AAP doubted surgical strikes and Balakote strikes?”
Further advising Delhi voters to ‘vote wisely’, he said, “They may cosmetically condemn it but we all know where INDI Alliance’s ‘aatma’ is. They never condemned when Fawad Chaudhry supported Rahul Gandhi, they never condemned Farooq Abdullah’s utterances. They started giving clean chit to Pakistan on 261/11 and the Pulwama attack. Beware, INDI always speaks Pakistan ‘ki zubaan’ on 370 and other issues.”
“Arvind Kejriwal must stop his drama; Kanhaiya, whom you supported called the Indian Army rapists and Naxalites martyrs.
“Congress gave a clean chit to Pakistan and Kasab on 26/11, Congress opposes the removal of Article 370. And you yourself had raised questions on Batla House encounter and the surgical strikes, ” he added.
Calling the Pakistan politician’s support for Kejriwal “shocking”, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said, “Why is Pakistan supporting Kejriwal and wanting more powers for him? This raises serious questions.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said that Pakistan’s support for Kejriwal on polling day was neither surprising nor shocking, because it’s a known fact that he enjoys the support of the country’s enemies.
“Kejriwal is friends with India’s enemies. He takes political funding from them. This is the reason behind Pakistan’s support for Delhi CM on polling day, ” Sachdeva said.
He also said that Kejriwal has become a threat to the nation’s security and the people of the city and country have understood this fact clearly.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal responded to the post by asking Chaudhry to refrain from commenting on Indian elections.
“Chaudhary Sahib, me and the people of my country are fully capable of handling our issues. Your tweet is not needed. The situation in Pakistan is very bad right now. You take care of your country, ” Kejriwal said in a post in Hindi.