Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday asserted that he will make India free from BJP in 2029 if the latter is voted to power in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Read here: Arvind Kejriwal wins trust vote in Delhi assembly, gets 54 AAP MLAs’ support

Speaking on the motion of confidence in the budget session of the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said that his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is the biggest challenger to the BJP and that is why it is under attack from all sides.

“The biggest challenger of BJP is Aam Aadmi Party. Today if BJP is scared of anyone, it is AAP…With utmost responsibility, I want to say that if BJP does not lose Lok Sabha elections in 2024, then AAP will make India free from BJP in 2029,” he said.

The AAP convenor brought the motion of confidence despite being in majority in the House citing that the saffron party was trying to poach AAP’s MLAs and topple the Kejriwal government.

The assembly passed the confidence motion through a voice vote, with 54 of the AAP’s 62 MLAs present during the voting. During the discussion, Kejriwal asserted that no AAP MLA had defected. Two MLAs are in jail, some are unwell and some others were not present in the capital city, he said.

He further said that several MLAs briefed him about how they were contacted and offered money to switch sides, allegedly by the saffron camp.

The chief minister asserted that the BJP thought it could finish the AAP by arresting him. “You may arrest me but how will you finish Kejriwal’s thoughts?” he asked.

“The way they (BJP) have attacked the AAP and arrested our ministers; people across the country are aware of this. They think that people are fools, but they are not. Now discussions are being held in parks and people are asking ‘does PM Modi want to crush Arvind Kejriwal’? Even children are asking this question because they have arrested so many of our ministers,” Kejriwal said.

Read here: Arvind Kejriwal calls for trust vote in Delhi assembly on day of court summons

The motion of confidence in the assembly comes on the day when Kejriwal appeared virtually before the Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court following a complaint by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over his alleged non-compliance with its summons.

Kejriwal, while appearing virtually, informed the court that he wanted to join the court proceedings physically but could not do so due to the confidence motion and Budget session.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)