“Returning to jail for speaking against dictatorship,” says Arvind Kejriwal

PTC News Desk: Arvind Kejriwal, the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the chief minister of Delhi, arrived at the party headquarters with his family and ministers prior to his surrender at Tihar jail in relation to the money laundering case involving the liquor excise policy. In the party office, he also spoke to party employees. 

He said that nothing was taken out of his home and placed in the jail. He told the poll workers and party workers to remain put until the very end of the counting process and to exercise caution.

जेल में सरेंडर करने से पहले पार्टी कार्यालय में पार्टी के सभी जनप्रतिनिधि, कार्यकर्ता और सभी दिल्लीवासियों के नाम संबोधन। https://t.co/UBQL3RnIV5

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) June 2, 2024

After offering his respects at the Hanumal Temple at Connaught Place, he made his way to the party headquarters. On May 10, the Supreme Court issued an order granting Kejriwal interim release; on June 2, he was told to surrender.

Along with other AAP leaders, Kejriwal was attended by Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Kailash Gahlot. Prior to it, he also paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.

#WATCH | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal offer prayers at Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place.

Arvind Kejriwal will surrender at Tihar Jail later today at the end of his interim bail granted by Supreme Court to campaign for Lok Sabha elections on May 10. He… pic.twitter.com/92gkd3oSct

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2024

“On the Supreme Court’s directives, I went out for 21 days to campaign in this election. I owe the Supreme Court a great deal. I’m going to Tihar to give up today. By 3 p.m., I’ll be leaving my house. I’m going to Rajghat first to honor Mahatma Gandhi. I’ll then proceed to the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place to ask Lord Hanuman for his blessings. I’ll meet the staff and party leaders in the party office after that. From then, I’ll head back to Tihar once more,” he wrote in a post on X, further stating that he would be content in prison provided others were content.

#WATCH | Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, his wife Sunita Kejriwal, Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot and other AAP leaders leave from Rajghat.

Arvind Kejriwal will surrender at the Tihar Jail later today at the end of his interim… pic.twitter.com/MjfLxqtr5d

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2024

This is happening while a Delhi court has postponed making a ruling on Kejriwal’s request for temporary bail. Noting that the application was for the granting of interim relief on medical grounds rather than the renewal of the interim bail granted by the Supreme Court, Special Judge Kaveri Baweja reserved the ruling. The Supreme Court’s provisional respite for Kejriwal expires on June 1.

Sanjay Singh speaks to the employees

Sanjay Singh, a member of the Rajya Sabha and leader of the AAP, also spoke to the workers, informing them that Arvind Kejriwal is being punished because he is the first chief minister to serve the people of Delhi after independence.

SC rejects Kejriwal’s appeal for an immediate listing

Kejriwal filed an urgent plea earlier on Wednesday, requesting an extension of his interim parole by seven days so he could undertake specific medical tests. The Supreme Court registry denied the motion, stating it was unmaintainable because Kejriwal was allowed to petition the trial court for regular bail.

Because of his “sudden and unexplained weight loss coupled with high ketone levels,” which are symptomatic of renal, major cardiac diseases, and even cancer, the AAP leader had requested an extension of his interim bail so that he could undergo a variety of medical tests, including a PET-CT scan.

The chief minister was given 21 days of temporary bail by the highest court on May 10 so that he could run for office during the Lok Sabha elections. It had instructed him to turn himself in on June 2, the day the last round of the seven-phase poll ended. Kejriwal has been actively campaigning for the I.N.D.I.A bloc in the 2018 Lok Sabha elections since his release from jail on May 10.

What led to Kejriwal’s arrest? 

It is important to note that on March 21, only days after the general election timetable was revealed, Kejriwal was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an excise policy case.

The issue concerns purported corruption and money laundering during the creation and implementation of the excise policy for 2021–2022 that the Delhi government ultimately decided to abandon.

The Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021–22, which granted licenses to liquor dealers, is accused of enabling cartelization and favoring some dealers who had reportedly paid bribes for it—a allegation that the AAP has always denied.

Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal dismisses exit polls as fake, alleges EVM manipulation ahead of surrender