A team of the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch came to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s home again today to serve notice in a case over his allegation that the BJP tried to buy Aam Aadmi Party MLAs.

The Crime Branch teams had gone to Mr Kejriwal and Delhi minister Atishi’s homes yesterday too to serve notice. Officials at Mr Kejriwal’s home, however, refused to take the notice, and Atishi was not at home, news agency PTI reported.

Sources said the Crime Branch wants to hand over the notice to Mr Kejriwal personally.

The Delhi BJP had filed a complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora, saying the allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders were serious.

“We had said Kejriwal is making false allegations. The truth behind Kejriwal’s lie is about to be exposed now. He cannot lie and then run away from an investigation,” Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said.

Last week, the AAP alleged the BJP offered Rs 25 crore each to seven of its MLAs to quit the party, and threatened to topple the Kejriwal government.

Atishi had told reporters the BJP has launched “Operation Lotus 2.0” in Delhi, referring to the BJP’s election symbol, and a term that the Opposition frequently uses against the BJP for alleged attempts to topple state governments.

“They had made a similar attempt to poach AAP MLAs last year by offering them money, but failed,” Atishi had said.

Mr Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP chief, after meeting the police chief on January 30 demanded Mr Kejriwal must prove his allegations. So far no one from the AAP has come with evidence, Mr Sachdeva said, adding this proves the allegation is baseless.

Canada has named India as a ‘foreign threat’ that could potentially interfere in their elections, months after they alleged Delhi’s role in the killing of a Khalistani terrorist on their soil. The Indian government is yet to react to the fresh allegation.

The allegation was made by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service in a declassified intelligence report – accessed by Global News.

This is the latest in a series of allegations and counter-allegations that erupted last year with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claiming Indian role in the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar – which India denied.

The October 2022 report titled ‘Foreign Interference and Elections: A National Security Assessment’ called India a ‘threat’ and warned that foreign interference was weakening Canada’s democracy.

Foreign interference is different from traditional diplomacy since it used secrecy and deception to influence public narratives and policy-making, Global News cited the report as saying.

This is the first time Canada has accused India of election meddling, a charge that China and Russia already face. A ‘Briefing to the Minister of Democratic Institutions on Foreign Interference’ in February last year referred to China as “by far the most significant threat.”

“We know that the PRC sought to clandestinely and deceptively influence the 2019 and 2021 federal elections,” it quoted the report, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

The parts of the document made public names no country, but other materials name India and China as top threats, the media said. It said foreign interference harms Canada and Canadians “by eroding sovereignty, democratic processes and values.”

“FI (foreign interference) activities incrementally weaken the fabric of Canadian democracy, subtly diminish the hard-won social cohesion of a multicultural society, and impinge on the Charter rights of Canadians,” it said.

The Canadian Prime Minister has ordered an enquiry into the charges.

Tensions had been brewing between India and Canada since Prime Minister Narendra Modi scolded Justin Trudeau over rising secessionist activities in his country, during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of G20 summit in Delhi last year.

A week after that, Trudeau made the explosive charge that “Indian government agents” could be behind the shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian citizen and a wanted terrorist in India, outside a gurdwara in Surrey in June. India rejected the allegation as “absurd”.

Maanvi, what would you ask your character Siddhi from Four More Shots Please!, if you had to revisit her…

I would ask Siddhi from Season 3 about her problem and why she behaves the way she does. In fact, I, as Maanvi Gagroo, wanted to slap her! Especially in that scene where she roasts everybody at her birthday dinner. That was the height. But it was a great scene for me as an actor and I loved performing it because I got to say things that I would never say to somebody’s face in real life. I would also tell her to get some therapy!

Have you ever had a similar experience in real life where you were grieving and you behaved a bit off character?

Fortunately or unfortunately, I have never had a complex about my body or been insecure about my looks. Of course, there are days when I wonder whether I am looking good or bloated. And there are days when I feel like my skin is glowing and I am having a great hair day. But I have never had a low phase with respect to my weight or body type. We get too bogged down by these things. Anytime we meet someone after a long time, the first thing we comment on is their weight. Their physical appearance is part of their personality, and we can talk about it. But doing it constantly gets too much. We should get over it and move beyond weight and the colour of the skin.

When these things happen, do you feel objectified as an actor?

I remember there was this one audition where the guy there was standoffish. He just looked at me, pointed to a call sheet, and asked me to write my name, always looking disinterested. As soon as I read the lines and did the scene, instantly his entire demeanour changed! I think he didn’t expect me to be such a good actor. He suddenly looked interested and asked me whether I was a trained actor and he noted down all my details. He also said there was another show he was casting for and would call me for that too. That was a little bit of a win.

When you decided to come to Bollywood, what were your apprehensions like? Did you feel like you would fit in?

Before I moved to Mumbai, I had done two projects while I was studying in Delhi. So I would keep coming to Mumbai to do shoots and then go back. What made me decide to continue with acting was a Times of India review of my first film, Aamras. The film didn’t do that well, but I got a great review where it was mentioned that Maanvi Gagroo stood out as a performer and was the next big thing to watch out for, or something to that effect. And I thought I had arrived. Since all the reviews mentioned my name, I thought when I went back to Mumbai there would be a queue of producers and directors wanting to cast me. Obviously, nothing like that happened, and I fell flat on my face. Then began the struggle.

Did you have to struggle a lot?

My struggle was more about figuring things out. Thankfully, no one ever told me that I was bad.

You are extremely active on social media.

I am a huge social media fan. Even if I were not an actor, I would still be very active on social media because it comes very naturally to me. If I see something interesting, I immediately take out my phone and do a story about it. There are days when I don’t feel like doing it so I don’t do it. That’s when my social media or PR manager calls me and asks me to do a Q&A with my fans or a live show. But I don’t like to be told what to do. Because it’s my ID and profile, and I like to do whatever!

Was Four More Shots Please! a game changer for you?

Yes, in some ways. When I was doing it, I didn’t think that it was a breakout role. I was doing it with a bunch of friends, but it was the first character who was not described by her physicality. Usually, you are told that a tall, pretty, bubbly, or whatever character walks in. But I was just told that I should walk in, confident, strutting in my high heels and then it went on to describe the scene. Everything about the show was glam and it made people and especially the industry see me in a different light.

How therapeutic was it to work with three other women over three seasons?

In season 1, we were all too new. There was no jealousy or anything, but we had to pretend to be friends. Season 2 was much better. We went to Turkey and we bonded there, as you always do on outdoor schedules. Season 3 was outstanding! I had the best time.

What are you looking forward to right now?

Till June this year, I was not doing anything, and I was fine with it. I was okay because I knew I was starting something in another month. We are also discussing whether we should have Season 4 of Four More Shots, Please! but we don’t want to do it just for the heck of it. It has to be something good. The best thing about Four More Shots Please! is that all four girls are different. One is fat, another is skinny, one is dark, another is fair, someone has tattoos, etc. Yet all four are stunning in their own way. I keep telling the makers that they have four different girls at different stages of their lives. We can just travel with these girls and keep growing with them, like in Sex in the City, where we all saw them go through that process.

How do you handle your bad days?

If I am having a bad day in general, like not feeling well or motivated, I don’t attend events. But when I watch the same event and see pictures of the people attending it, it bothers me. ‘Damn, I should have gone,’ I think!

Two truths and a lie…

I am a trained dancer. Two, I was born in Kashmir, and three, I was nominated for Filmfare Best Supporting Actor!

How’s married life treating you?

It’s been great so far. It feels good to come back after a hectic day to be with the person you love. So yeah, I can say that currently, life is beautiful. We’re both learning to maintain the work-life balance.