Arvind Kejriwal declares jailed Chaitar Vasava as AAP candidate from Bharuch Lok Sabha seat

A local court in Dediapada in Narmada district on December 18 sent Chaitar to judicial custody at the end of the three-day police remand in the November 2 case of alleged extortion and assault of forest officials. Chaitar, who had evaded arrest for over a month and surrendered on December 14, moved a bail plea in the court on December 18 but it was rejected.

Accompanied by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal arrived at the public rally held at Netrang in the Bharuch district in support of Vasava and shared the dias with Chaitar’s second wife Varsha and his mother.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Netrang in Bharuch on Sunday. (Express Photo By Bhupendra Rana)

Kejriwal said, “I want to announce that Chaitar Vasava will contest the Lok Sabha polls from Bharuch Parliamentary constituency… By the time the polls are here, Chaitar will be out. We have hired the most expensive and topmost lawyers for Chaitar Vasava and his wife Shakuntala.”

“On January 20, Shakuntalaben ‘s bail plea will be heard by the Supreme Court and we are hopeful that she will be granted bail. But in case the BJP does not allow him to come out of prison by using their tactics, it will be your responsibility to make him win. Take his photo and go to each house… The BJP should lose its deposit from this seat,” he added.

Kejriwal urged the tribal community to ‘avenge the insult’ and likened the BJP to “worse than dacoits” for imprisoning Chaitar’s wife Shakuntala. “They have arrested your son, and our brother Chaitar Vasava. But the more disappointing act is the arrest of Shakuntalaben, Chaitar’s wife. They (BJP) have arrested the daughter-in-law of the community. It is an insult to the entire community. Won’t you avenge this?” Kejriwal asked.

“The BJP is worse than dacoits who would loot villages but never touch women or families… They have gone a step ahead. The BJP wants to crush Chaitar, a young leader, to set an example for others to stay away. They want to tell the other youngsters to toe the line. They are scared of Chaitar because he will soon start getting justice for tribals and they do not want that,” added Kejriwal.

Stating that the BJP had failed tribals in the 30 years of its rule, Kejriwal said, “If the BJP had done what was supposed to be done, the tribal communities would not be needing Chaitar. The BJP hates tribals; it is against the tribals, and it doesn’t want tribals to develop. What has the BJP done in 30 years? Did they construct schools and hospitals in your villages or give you employment? Why did they jail Chaitar? Because he is strong and would fight for your rights. He is not fighting for you but for your children,” said Kejriwal.

He added that Chaitar would “initiate the BJP ‘s destruction” from Bharuch. “I heard that the government hospital here is being privatised. Where will we go if people in our families fall sick? That is why Chaitar is fighting. Hundreds and thousands of rupees are being allocated for tribal development. Where is the money? Why does it not reach your villages? Chaitar was raising his voice against this. In the entire Gujarat, the BJP is scared of Chaitar. I want to tell the BJP that Chaitar will be your ‘Kaal’. He will start your destruction.”

Kejriwal said he had received a message that Chaitar was being forced to join the BJP with an offer of Rs 100 crore and a ministerial berth. “But he told them he will not cheat his community. He told them he would be in jail for 10-15 years. He is a lion, and you cannot cage him for too long. When he comes out, he will pounce on you.”

Kejriwal said he would meet Chaitar in prison and assure him of the people’s support. “Tomorrow, when I meet Chaitar in jail with Mann, should I tell him that the entire Gujarat is with him? This is not a fight for Chaitar but for the self-respect of your community. If you remain silent today, the BJP will be strengthened to crush all other voices. We have to tell the BJP we will not tolerate this.”

On his arrival by a chopper from Vadodara, Kejriwal first met with the family of Chaitar, whose second wife Varsha also addressed the gathering and read out a letter written by the AAP leader to the people from jail.

Gujarat AAP President Isudan Gadhvi also shared the dais with Kejriwal and Mann. Addressing the gathering, he referred to Kejriwal and Chaitar as “lions”. It was in August last year that Gadhvi had announced an alliance between AAP and Congress in Gujarat ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, after which Chaitar had also spoken of “extending support” to Congress’ Mumtaaz Patel, daughter of Late Ahmed Patel, who is a prospective Congress candidate for the Bharuch Lok Sabha. Mumtaaz, too, had spoken in support of tribals following Chaitar’s arrest.

Varsha said, “When I met him (Chaitar) in the jail two days ago, he sent a message to his people. I will read out his letter to you. ‘I want to apologise for not being able to be there for you all in the last two months. I had raised my voice against the lack of classrooms and teachers in school, healthcare facilities, electricity, against corruption and land acquisitions for building highways. So, to break my morale and because my voice reached from the streets to the sadan (Assembly), they have put me behind bars with others, including my wife Shakuntala. But I will be back amongst you soon’.”

“No one can stop a river from making its way. Chaitar is like a river, he will find his way. He is a lion and even if you cage him, he will still hunt his prey….They have turned it into a joke,” he said.

“Whenever there is an election, they want to jail Chaitar or Arvind Kejriwal. Why can’t we fight elections? Have you (BJP) freed India (from the British)? Have you forgotten Sukhdev and Rajguru, who kissed the noose at the age of 23,” added Mann, invoking the death sentence of Bhagat Singh and his associates Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru.

Chaitar’s second wife Varsha also addressed the gathering and read out a letter written by the AAP leader to the people from jail. (Express photo by Bhupendra Rana)

The FIR lodged at Dediapada police station alleged that Chaitar and his family abused five forest officials and assaulted one of them on October 30. Chaitar also allegedly fired a round in the air to intimidate the forest officer who later filed a complaint with the police.

The FIR named seven other accused — Shakuntala, Jitendra, farmer Ramesh Vasava and his wife from the Jhadoli village and three villagers from Bogaj village, including two daughters and a son-in-law of a man named Dungarji Vasava — as well as two other unidentified men.

Mann said, “History has stood witness that since Birsa Munda, Lala Lajpat Rai and Chandrashekhar Azad, those who fought for people were sent to jail… What was Chaitar fighting for? He opposed destroying farmland at 4 am and that was for the farmers.”

“Arvind Kejriwal’s loyal people started constructing schools in Delhi that were better than private schools. When someone told Narendra Modi about it, Manish Sisodia was put behind bars; then someone complained about hospitals being built better than the private hospitals, Satyendar Jain was sent to jail. Now they know that wherever Arvind Kejriwal goes, the BJP loses ground, so they are sending notices to threaten,” he added.

Referring to the Punjab government’s purchase of a 540-megawatt private thermal power plant at Goindwal Sahib for ₹1,080 crore, Mann said, “Punjab is flowing against the tide.. a government power company has purchased a private thermal plant. This is Arvind Kejriwal’s model… Whoever wants to join a party that doesn’t have pockets full come to us because in the end, we will all go in coffins without pockets.”

Kejriwal and Mann will stay at a private hotel in Vadodara on Sunday night and fly to Rajpipla on Monday to meet Chaitar, who is lodged in the Rajpipla sub-jail. The two Chief Ministers have been granted permission by the jail authorities to meet Chaitar as “friends”, police sources said. On Sunday night, Kejriwal will also meet AAP leaders at his hotel.