New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal’s vipassana (meditation) trip to Punjab’s Hoshiarpur has ignited a major political controversy, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress accusing him of hypocrisy over his massive security convoy. The criticism comes on the heels of AAP’s defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections, intensifying scrutiny on Kejriwal’s leadership.
The uproar began when AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal took to X, comparing Kejriwal’s security detail to that of former US President Donald Trump. “Kejriwal, who criticizes the whole world for VIP culture, is today roaming around with a security cover bigger than Donald Trump,” she wrote.
BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed Kejriwal for moving “like a maharaja.” He criticized the AAP chief for abandoning his “common man” image, recalling how he once traveled in a WagonR but now moves in a bulletproof Land Cruiser, escorted by over 100 Punjab Police commandos, jammers, and ambulances. “If power was his test, he has failed miserably. AAP’s truth is out—deception, hypocrisy, and VIP arrogance at its peak,” Sirsa wrote on X.
The Congress also joined the attack, with senior leader Sandeep Dikshit accusing Kejriwal of being addicted to a “pompous and lavish lifestyle.” Referring to Kejriwal’s convoy of over 100 vehicles, Dikshit said, “His simplicity was always a pretence. He is so used to extravagance that he needs 100 vehicles to accompany him on a meditation retreat.”
