Kejriwal leads AAP attack in House over Delhi's law and order, BJP fires back

New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) AAP sought to corner the BJP over "deteriorating" law and order in the national capital on the last of the seventh Delhi Assembly on Wednesday, with party chief Arvind Kejriwal asking if the lives of ordinary people were not important for the saffron party.

AAP and opposition BJP legislators hit out at each other during a discussion on Delhi's law and order situation, with the MLAs recounting crime incidents from their respective areas.

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta questioned why the other issues the city's people were facing were not discussed in the House. His objections were turned down by the speaker.

Kejriwal said Delhi was witnessing "rampant murders, rapes, extortion and shootouts but the BJP says law and order is not an issue".

"I want to ask, doesn't the security of the common man matter? Isn't the life of an ordinary person as valuable as that of a VIP? Ask that boy whose three family members were killed -- for him, his parents and sister were the most important VIPs in the world," Kejriwal said, citing the Neb Sarai triple-murder case.

He also referred to the BJP's attack on the party over an attempt on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal's life in AAP-governed Punjab.

The AAP supremo hit out at Union Home Minister Amit Shah, saying Delhi's law and order had "collapsed".

He asserted that he would speak against the "deteriorating" law and order situation despite the BJP's attacks on him and the arrest of AAP MLAs.

AAP's Uttam Nagar MLA Naresh Balyan, who was granted bail on Wednesday in an extortion matter, was later arrested by the Delhi Police in a case related to an alleged organised crime.

BJP leader Gupta alleged that AAP was responsible for rising crimes and the drug menace in Delhi. "Rohingyas and criminals are flourishing under the patronage of the AAP government." The opposition leader also alleged that public interest issues raised by the BJP MLAs were not allowed in the House.

The BJP legislators also held a protest on the assembly premises after their demand for discussions on other issues was declined by the speaker.

Kejriwal accused the BJP of "turning a blind eye" to Delhi's "escalating" crime rate.

"In Delhi, people are being openly murdered and the BJP says crime is not an issue. Women in Delhi are being raped, women are unsafe and the BJP says law and order is not an issue. In Delhi, traders are openly receiving extortion threats and the BJP says crime is not an issue. Gangsters are firing bullets at shops and their (BJP) leaders say crime is not an issue," he charged.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said people of all classes and cross-section of society were afraid, citing the murder of an elderly man in Delhi's posh Panchsheel Park area.

People are being murdered in broad daylight. The victims complain to the police but the police do not take action, he alleged.

AAP and the BJP have been engaged in a war of words ahead of the assembly polls over a range of issues.

The seventh Delhi Assembly's first sitting was held on February 24, 2020, with AAP forming the government with a massive mandate.

Elections to the 70-member House are due in February.

Speaker Ram Niwas Goel adjourned the House sine die after it transacted its last day of business. PTI VIT VIT SZM SZM