Leaders across the aisle wish Kejriwal on birthday, CM says he's 'missing Sisodia'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday turned 55-years-old and thanked people for their wishes on his birthday but said he was missing his former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is currently lodged in jail.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Kejriwal on his birthday and said on X that he was "praying for" the AAP leader's "long life and good health".

In the morning, Kejriwal wrote on X, "Today is my birthday. Many people are sending their wishes. Thank you so much! But I miss Manish. He is in jail in a false case. Let’s all take a pledge today - that we will do everything within our means to provide the best quality education to every child born in India."

"That will lay the foundation for a strong India. That will help in realising our dream of making India no 1. That will also make Manish happy," he added.

Several senior Opposition leaders, including Chief Ministers M K Stalin and Nitish Kumar, too wished Kejriwal on his birthday. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, DMK's Kanimozhi, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Aditya Thackeray and Priyanka Chaturvedi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Rajiv Shukla were among others who greeted Kejriwal.

The Delhi Assembly extended wishes to Kejriwal with Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla expressing hope that he scale new heights in political life.

AAP on X lauded Kejriwal as the man who "invented zero electricity bills" and "the champ who made us believe that Indian government schools can compete with top-notch private schools".

"Happy Birthday to the leader who made basic necessities like education, healthcare, electricity, and water the pillars of our political discourse. Happy Birthday to the brave soul who ditched his comfortable job to change the Politics of India. Happy Birthday to the son of the soil who is always thinking of the last man in the queue," it said.

The party also described Kejriwal as a "statesman who made the youth take interest in politics" and "the people's leader who built a political unicorn from scratch and achieved a National Party status in just 10 years".

"Happy Birthday to the leader who strengthened Democracy with his politics. ArvindKejriwal: The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Happy Birthday Arvind Kejriwal," the party added.