New Delhi, March 22: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, is set to appear before a special court today.
A team from the Enforcement Directorate had arrived at Kejriwal’s residence on Thursday to question him regarding the liquor policy case. Amidst dramatic circumstances, Kejriwal was arrested during a search operation conducted at his residence, as he failed to obtain interim protection from arrest in the liquor policy case from the Delhi High Court.
Following the arrest, security was heightened at the ITO near the Aam Aadmi Party office in Delhi.
AAP leaders condemned the arrest, attributing it to BJP’s nervousness ahead of the elections. Saurabh Bharadwaj, an AAP Minister, stated, “They did not have any questions for the Delhi CM. Because elections are around the corner, the BJP is scared, it is nervous… Just to shut that voice, the Chief Minister of Delhi has been arrested.”
Similarly, AAP leader Atishi labeled Kejriwal’s arrest as a “political conspiracy” by the BJP, emphasizing that it is unprecedented for a sitting CM to be arrested by the Central government.
Support for Kejriwal poured in from AAP workers, leaders, and members of the INDIA bloc, who criticized the BJP’s use of the ED as a weapon against the opposition.
Contrarily, the BJP defended the ED’s actions, accusing Kejriwal and AAP of corruption. BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla asserted, “AAP leaders are saying that Arvind Kejriwal is not a human, but an ideology… And when the court takes action, he will call it an atrocity… I want to ask them, is the court finishing the democracy?”
Congress leader KC Venugopal also expressed solidarity with AAP, accusing the BJP of vendetta politics against opposition leaders.
Kejriwal’s arrest comes in the wake of ED’s investigation into money laundering charges linked to the now-scrapped excise policy. Several senior AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are currently in judicial custody in connection with the same case.
