Arvind Kejriwal arrest updates | Delhi HC rejected Kejriwal’s interim plea to be released from ED custody

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be produced before a Delhi court on March 28 on the conclusion of his Enforcement Directorate custodial remand.

- PTI

The Delhi High Court will hear a PIL tomorrow seeking removal of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from his post.

- ANI

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in ED custody, for skipping as many as nine summons by the central enforcement agency, in connection with the alleged scam linked to the now-withdrawn Delhi excise policy.

- ANI

Delhi High Court rejects Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s interim plea to be released from Enforcement Directorate’s custody in relation to a money laundering case connected with the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy.

The high court said that due to the nature of interim relief sought by Mr. Kejriwal, it cannot pass any order without giving proper hearing to the ED.

The next date of hearing is April 3.

Delhi cabinet minister Atishi said if President’s Rule is imposed in the national capital in the aftermath of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, it would be a clear case of “political vendetta”.

- PTI

If independent probe had been conducted in excise policy case, BJP would have been an accused: AAP leader Atishi

Delhi minister Atishi said the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will benefit the AAP electorally in the Lok Sabha polls as the party is getting a lot of sympathy.

“The good thing is that it has benefited us electorally,” she said, adding before the arrest of Mr. Kejriwal, the result of Lok Sabha polls was a forgone conclusion as people were of the view that the BJP was going to win.

“But after Kejriwal’s arrest, the level of public sympathy has gone up for us. There is just one sentiment that the BJP has gone one step too far. So, I would feel it has benefitted us electorally,” Ms. Atishi said.

- PTI

After arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, Lok Sabha polls have become ‘People vs BJP’ election: AAP leader Atishi.

- PTI

Delhi High Court issues notice to ED on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s petition against arrest by ED in excise policy case.

- PTI

The Bar Council of India (BCI) has issued a statement requesting the lawyers to refrain from any protest against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest until he is declared innocent.

The Aam Aadmi Party’s legal cell had called for a protest by lawyers across all district courts against Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

“Let us uphold the integrity and dignity of our noble profession, refraining from any movement until a competent court unequivocally establishes Arvind Kejriwal’s innocence or declares his arrest unjust or unlawful,” the statement issued by BCI president Manan Kumar Mishra said.

- PTI

MLAs from both the ruling AAP and the opposition BJP held protests on the Delhi Assembly premises raising slogans against each other.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs held a demonstration demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the ED in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators and their supporters raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Both the parties staged protests simultaneously. As the BJP legislators took out a march carrying placards, the AAP leaders and workers, dressed in yellow T-shirts, started raising slogans against Modi while following the saffron party’s MLAs.

- PTI

Trinamool Congress will send its representatives to the ​March 31 rally of the INDIA bloc​ against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister ​Arvind Kejriwal​ by the Enforcement Directorate, sources said. 

The INDIA bloc has announced the ‘maha rally’ at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan following ​Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest​ in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on March 21. 

TMC sources said the party would send two leaders as representatives to the rally but did not name the leaders. While the TMC has maintained a distance from the opposition’s alliance after seat sharing talks with the Congress in West Bengal failed, it has asserted that it remains a part of the INDIA bloc as a formation against the ideology of the ruling BJP. 

- PTI

The Aam Aadmi Party’s MP and lone Lok Sabha member Sushil Kumar Rinku joined the BJP on Wednesday along with party MLA Sheetal Angural, dealing a blow to the party already facing a crisis following the arrest of its leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Mr. Rinku, the MP from Jalandhar in Punjab, and Angural, who was elected to the state Assembly from Jalandhar West, joined the BJP in the presence of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and its national general secretary Vinod Tawde.

The MP said he was joining the BJP for the development of Punjab, especially Jalandhar, and accused the state’s AAP government of not helping him in development works. - PTI

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya hit out at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying that his attempts to gain sympathy from the people of Delhi by issuing orders from the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) expressing concern about Delhi’s health services will not be successful.

“You (Mr. Kejriwal) have not fulfilled your responsibilities. You should have taken proper care of your health infrastructure from time to time. Now you are giving directions from jail just to gain sympathy from people. You will not be successful,” Mr. Mandaviya said, speaking to ANI.

Delhi’s Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said Arvind Kejriwal should resign as chief minister as the BJP protested outside the Delhi Assembly

“The chief minister should resign from his post. There are almost a dozen allegations of corruption against him. If the excise policy was world class, why did he take it back? We are demanding Kejriwal’s resignation,” Mr. Bidhuri said.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva also held a demonstration outside the entrance of the Assembly premises around 12 noon with a group of about 100 party workers from Mayur Vihar, along with the party’s Mahila Morcha and Yuva Morcha office-bearers, demanding the resignation of Mr. Kejriwal.

Dressed in black, the BJP workers gathered at the Vidhan Sabha entrance gate and started raising slogans. Mr. Sachdeva himself scaled over the gate shouting slogans.

Police did not allow them to enter the Assembly premises. The security personnel locked the main gate and subsequently, detained the protesters. - PTI

AAP activists in Thiruvananthapuram protested the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal outside the BJP state headquarters in the heart of the state capital. They burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

At the same time, a small group of BJP workers came out of the party office at Mararji Bhavan and tried to confront the protesting AAP activists.

The police prevented both sides from clashing with each other by acting as a barrier between the two groups. - PTI

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya took a swipe at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for voicing concern over delivery of healthcare services in the city, saying had he been worried he would have implemented the Ayushman Bharat health insurance scheme.

Mr. Mandaviya also slammed Mr. Kejriwal for not implementing the Prime Minister Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) which focuses on strengthening capacities of health institutions across the continuum of care at all levels.

The minister’s remarks come a day after Mr. Kejriwal issued directions from ED custody on ensuring that medicines and tests are available to people at all government hospitals and mohalla clinics. - PTI

Mika Aziz’s cartoon on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sending orders to his Ministers from ED custody

The blood sugar level of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is diabetic, is fluctuating and his health has deteriorated in Enforcement Directorate custody, AAP sources have claimed.

Arvind Kejriwal’s blood sugar level dropped to 46 Mg at one point of time and according to doctors, such a drop is “very dangerous”, they claimed. -PTI

BJP leaders and workers on Wednesday held a demonstration outside the Delhi assembly’s gate, demanding the resignation of arrested Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The protesting leaders and workers, including Delhi BJP unit president Virendra Sachdeva, were later detained by police from there.

BJP MLAs also held a protest on the premises of the assembly, which was in session on Wednesday. They displayed placards and raised slogans to demand Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation. — PTI

India summons acting Deputy Chief of Mission of U.S. Embassy in New Delhi over remarks made by U.S. on CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. 

The U.S. is following reports of the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and encourages a fair legal process, a State Department spokesperson said on March 25 after Germany’s reaction to the case sparked a protest from India.

Mr. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 22 on corruption charges that his party rejects, a month before general elections. “We encourage a fair, transparent, and timely legal process for Chief Minister Kejriwal,” the U.S. spokesperson said in response to an emailed query about the case, in which India summoned a German envoy on Saturday to protest against his government’s remarks about the arrest. — Agencies

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The government will not be run from jail, Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena said in the backdrop of statements by AAP leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as Chief Minister even if he is behind bars.

Speaking at a summit on March 27, Mr. Saxena said, “I can assure the people of Delhi that the government will not be run from jail.” — PTI

One of the most immediate fallout of the arrest of Convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been the closing ranks by Opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc.

From Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Nationalist Congress President Sharad Pawar, Rashtriya Janata Dal patriarch Lalu Pradad Yadav to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, senior political leaders jumped in to defend the bureaucrat-turned-politician, whose rise in politics a little over a decade ago was at the cost of many of these established players. 

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The U.S. is following reports of the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and encourages a fair legal process, a State Department spokesperson said on March 25 after Germany’s reaction to the case sparked a protest from India.

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Inside the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) lock-up, where Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is currently lodged after being arrested in an excise policy-linked money laundering charge, an accused gets access to basic facilities like bed and bottled drinking water.

It is learnt that the toilet and bathroom are located a little away from the lock-up, which is guarded round the clock by security personnel. The premises are also monitored through closed-circuit television cameras (CCTVs).

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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators protested against the arrest of their national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal at the Assembly. The legislators were seen wearing yellow T-shirts with “ Main Bhi Kejriwal” (I am Kejriwal) logo on them. The AAP MLAs went into the well of the House and raised slogans in support of the Chief Minister and against the Narendra Modi Government.

ANI

Photojournalists covering the Aam Aadmi Party protests were harassed by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. The matter escalated between members of the press and police forces as photojournalists were attempting to click pictures of AAP leaders protesting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. 

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The New Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, introduced in November 2021, aimed to revolutionize the liquor retail landscape in the capital. Its objectives were to maximize revenue for the state, combat the sale of counterfeit alcohol, and enhance the consumer experience. However, the policy encountered vehement opposition and allegations of procedural irregularities, ultimately leading to its annulment on August 1st, 2022.

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The first Delhi Assembly Session since Chief Minister Kejriwal’s arrest started with loud protests with AAP members wearing yellow shirts and cutouts of the CM’s face, it was adjourned as it started. After the adjournment, Speaker Ram Niwas Goel asked for the house to continue peacefully. However, AAP continued its protest. Meanwhile, BJP leaders also protested demanding Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation. The House was adjourned till April 1

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The Delhi High Court cautioned lawyers against staging protests on court premises against the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the consequences would be “severe”. The legal cell of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had called for a protest in the capital’s District Courts on Wednesday against the arrest.

“Consequences would be severe for organising protest in court. Courts cannot be withheld. Courts cannot be stopped. We cannot take away someone’s right to approach the court,” the High Court said adding, ”If someone does it, they would do it at their own peril”.

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A Delhi BJP delegation met Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on Wednesday to demand a probe into the “letters” being sent by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to his Ministers from ED custody.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva told reporters that the party’s delegation during its meeting with Arora at the Delhi Police Headquarters demanded a probe into whether the “letters” being written by Mr. Kejriwal were genuine and also into the role of his Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj who have claimed to have received them.

PTI

Stressing that no money was found in multiple Enforcement Directorate raids, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita said her husband would do a “big expose” on the alleged excise policy scam in court on March 28.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was arrested by the ED on March 21 in an excise policy-linked money laundering case and subsequently remanded to the agency’s custody till March 28. Sunita Kejriwal in a digital briefing said her husband will reveal the truth on March 28 and also present evidence.

PTI