The 55-year-old AAP national convener’s arrest may have serious repercussions on the poll fortunes of the party since he has been at the centre of its plans and strategy for the Lok Sabha election
Arvind Kejriwal will continue as the Delhi Chief Minister and discharge his duties from jail, the Aam Aadmi Party said today minutes after he was arrested in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. “Arvind Kejriwal is and will remain the Chief Minister of Delhi… there are no two ways about it,” said AAP’s Atishi, who is currently his Number 2 in the government.
“We made it clear from the beginning that he will work from jail if need be. There is no law that stops him from doing so. He has not been convicted,” she added.
Mr Kejriwal’s continuing to work as the Chief Minister from jail is likely to create a constitutional crisis, sources said, pointing out that when Lalu Yadav, then Chief Minister of Bihar, got arrested in the fodder scam case, he had handed over his charges to his wife Rabri Devi.
Mr Kejriwal is the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested in recent times. Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren — who was arrested in January in connection with an alleged land scam — was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate after he met the Governor and stepped down from the post.
Mr Kejriwal was arrested after he skipped summons for questioning for a ninth time and the Delhi High Court refused to grant him protection from arrest. His team has already filed an appeal in the Supreme Court and is pushing for a midnight hearing.
In a recent press note, the Enforcement Directorate has accused Mr Kejriwal of conspiracy. K Kavitha of Bharat Rashtra Samithi had conspired with him, and AAP’s Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia to make changes in the now-scrapped liquor policy that benefitted a cartel, the agency has alleged.
Mr Kejriwal’s name, the agency had alleged, had appeared in the statements of some of the accused and witnesses.
Mr Sisodia is in jail. Soon after his arrest, his charges were divided between several leaders inducted into the cabinet.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal today in the liquor policy case. AAP leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj had earlier said they suspected the ED would arrest him today. Mr Kejriwal had skipped the central probe agency’s summons nine times.
ED’s allegations and timeline:
The ED in a press note had called Mr Kejriwal a “conspirator” in the case.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha allegedly conspired with Mr Kejriwal, and AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh while framing the now-scrapped liquor policy case, the ED has said.
The alleged conspiracy involved making a policy that would benefit a liquor lobby from southern India, which the ED had called the “South Lobby”.
In return, the “South Lobby” would give Rs 100 crore to the AAP, according to the ED.
Mr Kejriwal’s name had appeared in the statements of some accused and witnesses. The ED has mentioned this in its remand note and chargesheets.
Vijay Nair, one of the accused in the liquor policy case, frequently visited Mr Kejriwal’s office, and would spend most of his time there, the probe agency said.
Mr Nair allegedly told liquor traders that he discussed the policy with Mr Kejriwal. It was Mr Nair, who got Indospirit owner Sameer Mahendru to meet Mr Kejriwal, the investigators have said.
When the meeting was unsuccessful, he got Mr Mahendru and Mr Kejriwal talk in a video call, in which Mr Kejriwal said Mr Nair was his “child” who he trusts.
Raghav Magunta, the first accused in the “South Lobby” and now a witness, had said his father, who is a YSR Congress Party MP, met Mr Kejriwal to know more about the liquor policy.
Mr Sisodia’s former secretary C Arvind in a statement in December 2022 had said that in March the previous year he got a draft group of ministers report from Mr Sisodia.
When he went to Mr Kejriwal’s house after Mr Sisodia called him, Mr Arvind said he also saw Satyendar Jain there and the document. He alleged he was surprised because no such proposal was discussed in any group of ministers’ (GoM) meeting, but claimed he was asked to make a GoM report based on this document.