Group of Poets Seeks Delhi CM Kejriwal's Apology for 'Insulting' Them

A group of poets on Saturday wrote an open letter and demanded an apology from AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of insulting poets in his rebuttal to his former party colleague Kumar Vishwas' allegations that he had sympathies with pro-Khalistan elements.

In an open letter, the poets said they were hurt at Kejriwal's alleged attempt to ridicule them and said he should have used facts to counter the charge instead of "insulting" poets. The 40 poets who have signed the letter include Gajendra Solanki and Dinesh Raghuvanshi. They also raked up the charge that Kejriwal had stayed at the house of an alleged pro-Khalistan terrorist during the 2017 assembly polls in Punjab and referred to a fake letter, which extended support to the AAP in the ongoing polls, attributed to proscribed organization Sikhs for Justice.

Kejriwal had trashed Vishwas’s charge, dubbing it a “comedy”. "One day, a poet (Vishwas) recited a poetry in which he said seven years ago, Kejriwal had told him they will break the country into two parts after which I will become the PM of one and he (the former AAP leader) would become the PM of the other, the Delhi chief minister has said.

He added, "After this, Rahul Gandhi repeated this (allegations), (PM) Modi saw Rahul's speech and then realisation dawned on him that there is a big terrorist here in the country. Thanks to that poet who caught this terrorist..," he said, mocking the senior leaders of rival parties. Kejriwal said he must be the "world's sweetest terrorist" who builds schools and hospitals, The group of poets said people in the literary world have played a critical role in revolutions and other crucial turns in history, something Kejriwal might have forgotten. With the AAP seen to be a key contender for power in Punjab, its rivals Congress and the BJP have seized on the row to corner Kejriwal.

Responding to a letter from Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday that the Centre has taken "serious" note of a pro-Khalistan group's letter extending support to the Aam Aadmi Party.

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