New Delhi, June 20 (IANS): Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday reiterated his demand for the arrest of a BJP MP over the murder of a NDMC officer. A fuming BJP stepped up its attack on the AAP leader.
Kejriwal also urged Delhi Police, which does not report to him, to probe the relationship between the MP, Mahesh Girri, and hotelier Ramesh Kakkar, the main accused in the murder of NDMC's legal adviser M.M. Khan.
"Girri forwarded a letter written by Kakkar to the Lt. Governor which asked for the removal of Khan. The LG forwarded the letter to the NDMC chairman on Girri's reference," Kejriwal told reporters here.
"Murder cases are not solved in an open debate. The police should arrest him first and interrogate him about his relationship with Kakkar. Why did he write a letter to LG on Kakkar's behalf?"
He added: "Is this how criminal justice system works in the Modi government that whoever is accused of murder will sit on dharna outside my home?"
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader has accused the central government of shielding Girri. "He should be arrested and interrogated in Khan murder case. Modi police shielding him," Kejriwal tweeted earlier, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose government controls Delhi Police.
The Bharatiya Janata Party denied Kejriwal's allegations.
"We stand by our MP Mahesh Girri who has never written any letter to the Lt. Governor in the context of M.M. Khan or the NDMC hotel case in question," the BJP's Delhi unit said in a statement. "All that AAP and Chief Minister have said is a fresh bunch of lies."
Girri has been on hunger strike outside Kejriwal's residence after the latter didn't appear for an open debate with him at the Constitution Club here.
Meanwhile, BJP Rajya Sabha members Subramanian Swamy and Vijay Goel, Lok Sabha Member Manoj Tiwary and several other leaders including BJP veteran Vijay Kumar Malhotra joined the hunger strike led by Girri.
Swamy demanded Kejriwal's apology and also slammed Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung, saying he must be dismissed.
"There is no surprise the way in which Kejriwal is acting. He is a Naxalite by nature. All allegations levelled against Girri by him are completely wrong," Swamy told the party workers here.
"If there is a letter, then Kejriwal should present it, if not he should apologize," he said.
Attacking the AAP ministers, Swamy said: "All AAP ministers are thieves. Look how each one of them is resigning."
NDMC official Khan who was shot dead in Jamia Nagar here on May 16. Girri on Monday also wrote to the Delhi Police chief, asking him to investigate his role in the case.
"Probe the matter impartially and fearlessly. If you feel, please question me and if needed please arrest me," Girri said.
Khan, an estate officer with NDMC, was shot dead a day before he was expected to pass an order on the terms of the lease of The Connaught, a four-star hotel.
The hotel's owner, Ramesh Kakkar, was arrested along with six others for Khan's murder.
Both Girri and Karan Singh Tanwar, another BJP leader, have denied they are linked to Khan's murder.
Delhi Police has reportedly said they have not come across any evidence against Girri and Kanwar in the murder probe.
Girri, who represents East Delhi in the Lok Sabha, has dared Kejriwal to a public debate over the allegations and asked him to produce evidence to back the charges.