New Delhi: Following Arvind Kejriwal's criticism of Gujarat BJP chief C R Paatil for leading the party's state unit despite not being a Gujarati, Paatil retaliated by calling the AAP's national convener a "threat to the country's security" because his party delegated power to people with "Khalistani mentality," news agency PTI reported.
Kejriwal's non-Gujarati remark about Paatil during a rally in Bharuch district earlier in the day sparked a war of words between Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is planning to run in the state's Assembly elections due for the end of the year.
The BJP chastised Kejriwal for "uttering nonsense" and calling him an "expert liar with ties to Khalistanis and Naxalites," while the AAP branded Paatil a "threat" to Gujarat.
On the day when Gujarat and Maharashtra celebrated their foundation days, the two parties and their leaders had a verbal spat.
Taking to Twitter, Paatil said, "Giving responsibility in his party to people with Khalistani mentality and believing that making a demand for Khalistan is a constitutional right, @ArvindKejriwal is a threat to the security of the country."
Paatil's post came after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned Paatil's appointment as president of the BJP's state unit, asking whether the saffron party couldn't find a Gujarati man to lead it. During the day, he addressed the 'Adivasi Sankalp Mahasammelan' gathering in Bharuch district, where he emphasised the issue.
After the rally, Kejriwal tweeted, “@CRPaatil of Maharashtra is the president of Gujarat BJP. Didn’t the BJP get a single Gujarati for its president? People say, he is not only the president, he runs the Gujarat government. He is the real Chief Minister. This is a gross insult to the people of Gujarat. BJP people, give Gujarat a Gujarati president.”
Yagnesh Dave, a state BJP spokesperson, responded to Kejriwal's statement about Paatil during the event, saying the AAP leader was saying "nonsense" because he was afraid of CR Paatil and the BJP's popularity.
“Kejriwal is an expert liar with connections to Khalistanis and Naxalites,” Dave was quoted by PTI in its report.
“He is here to divide the country by saying this man is Gujarati, that man is Marathi. It is the foundation day of both Gujarat and Maharashtra, and his statement is an insult to the people of Gujarat and Maharashtra,” Dave said.
He claimed the BJP might have questioned him similarly for being born in Haryana and becoming Delhi's chief minister.
“We could have accused him of the same, but no, the BJP’s sanskar does not allow this. But you have no sanskar,” he said.
In reaction to Paatil's tweet, AAP state president Gopal Italia called him a "former bootlegger" and a "threat to Gujarat" to whom the people of the state would teach a lesson.
“Kejriwal is a staunchly honest and patriotic man. Thinking very well for the people of the country, Kejriwal gives people education, health, electricity and water. The former bootlegger is a threat to Gujarat. The people of Gujarat are going to teach a lesson to the former bootlegger and make an honest government in Gujarat,” Italia tweeted in response.
(With PTI Inputs)