Kejriwal vows to visit Gujarat IB office over alleged calls to AAP workers
Synopsis
Arvind Kejriwal personally called a number AAP claims belongs to the IB — the caller confirmed the identity, then hung up when Kejriwal asked for the legal basis. With roughly 100 workers allegedly contacted over 15-20 days and some reportedly threatened, AAP is turning a phone number into a political flashpoint in Gujarat, a state the party is actively trying to crack.
Key Takeaways
Arvind Kejriwal pledged on 28 May to personally visit the IB office in Gujarat to demand answers over alleged verification calls to AAP workers.
AAP Gujarat co-incharge Durgesh Pathak alleged roughly 100 party workers received calls from numbers claiming to be the IB and Crime Branch over the past 15–20 days .
Kejriwal said he personally dialled the number; the caller confirmed IB identity but disconnected when asked for the legal basis of the verification.
Some workers who visited the office in response to the calls were allegedly informally threatened, according to Pathak.
Neither the Intelligence Bureau nor Gujarat Police had issued any official statement as of the time of reporting.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, 28 May declared he would personally walk into the Intelligence Bureau (IB) office in Gujarat to demand answers over alleged verification calls being made to party workers, as AAP accused central agencies of systematically targeting its cadre in the state.
How the Controversy Unfolded
AAP Gujarat co-incharge Durgesh Pathak first raised the alarm in a post on social media platform X, claiming that a party worker based in Gujarat had been receiving repeated calls from a mobile number whose caller identified himself as being from the IB. 'The caller said he was speaking from the IB and asked the worker to come for verification,' Pathak said.
Pathak questioned the legal basis of the alleged exercise, asking under which law a citizen travelling from one state to another for work was required to register with the agency. He further alleged that roughly 100 party workers had received similar calls — reportedly from both the IB and the Crime Branch — over the preceding 15 to 20 days.
Kejriwal Dials the Number Himself
Reacting to Pathak's post, Kejriwal said he personally called the number in question. 'This is a very serious matter. I called this number and asked, "Are you speaking from the IB?" He said, "Yes,"' Kejriwal said. He added that when he identified himself and asked under which law the verification was being conducted, the caller disconnected and subsequently stopped answering the phone.
Kejriwal demanded that the IB publicly clarify whether the number belonged to the agency. He also urged party workers and members of the public to call the number and question the legal authority behind the alleged verification process.
Alleged Threats and Ongoing Pattern
Pathak alleged that some workers who had responded to the calls and visited the office were informally threatened. He noted that the latest case involved a worker from another state currently based in Vadodara. 'We thought this would stop after the local body elections, but it has not,' he said.
This comes amid a broader pattern of AAP alleging that central agencies have been used against its workers in states where the party is expanding its footprint — a charge the party has levelled in multiple states over the past two years.
No Official Response Yet
As of the time of reporting, neither the Intelligence Bureau nor Gujarat Police had issued any official statement addressing the allegations. The absence of a response leaves the core question — whether the calls were officially sanctioned — unanswered.
Kejriwal has pledged to visit the IB office during his next trip to Gujarat, a move likely to sharpen the political confrontation between AAP and the central establishment ahead of future electoral cycles in the state.
Point of View
If accurate, suggests an organised exercise; if false, the IB has every reason to say so publicly. Its continued silence is, at minimum, a communications failure. For Kejriwal, the Gujarat play is strategic: the party has struggled to build durable cadre there, and framing central agencies as a threat to its workers fits a well-worn narrative of institutional persecution. The real accountability question — whether any law actually authorises this kind of inter-state worker verification — has gone unasked by most coverage and unanswered by the government.
NationPress
18 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the alleged IB verification calls to AAP workers in Gujarat?
AAP alleges that roughly 100 of its workers in Gujarat received calls over a 15-to-20-day period from a mobile number whose caller identified himself as being from the Intelligence Bureau, asking workers to come in for verification. The party says some workers who complied were informally threatened, and questions whether any law authorises such a process.
What did Arvind Kejriwal do after the allegation surfaced?
Kejriwal said he personally dialled the number in question. The caller confirmed he was from the IB, but disconnected when Kejriwal identified himself and asked under which law the verification was being conducted. Kejriwal has since pledged to visit the IB office in Gujarat personally during his next trip to the state.
Has the Intelligence Bureau or Gujarat Police responded to the allegations?
As of 28 May, neither the Intelligence Bureau nor Gujarat Police had issued any official statement on the allegations made by AAP. The absence of a response leaves the question of whether the calls were officially sanctioned unanswered.
Who is Durgesh Pathak and what role did he play?
Durgesh Pathak is AAP's Gujarat co-incharge. He first raised the issue in a post on X, claiming a party worker in Gujarat had received repeated calls from a number claiming to be the IB. He later alleged that around 100 workers had been contacted and that some were threatened after visiting the office.
Why does this matter beyond Gujarat?
The allegations fit a broader pattern of AAP claiming that central agencies have been deployed against its workers in states where it is expanding. If the calls are confirmed as IB-initiated, it would raise serious questions about the legal authority and proportionality of surveilling political party workers crossing state lines for campaign work.
