Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested today by the Enforcement Directorate’s officials in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy. Kejriwal is the second serving chief minister after Hemant Soren to be arrested by the central agency.
The National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party is the fourth leader to be arrested after ministers Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in this connection.
Significantly, today itself, on the order of the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India shared detailed data on Electoral Bonds with the Election Commission of India, revealing which party received how much political funding and from which corporate houses.
As the Model Code of Conduct for Lok Sabha Elections has already been imposed, the larger question remains: Did the ED inform the Election Commission about their plans to arrest Arvind Kejriwal? Or did the EC examine the grounds for arresting a sitting CM weeks before the Lok Sabha elections?
Meanwhile, there is a massive protest on the streets of Delhi. Opposition leaders from Congress, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, as well as Tamil Nadu and Kerala Chief Ministers MK Stalin and Pinarayi Vijayan, RJD’s Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sharad Pawar of NCP, CPM’s Sitaram Yechury, Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPIML and TMC’s Derek O’ Brian, have vehemently criticized the arrest.
While AAP has made the political decision that Arvind Kejriwal will run his government from jail, unlike Hemant Soren, he will not resign from the post of Delhi CM.
Significantly, former Governor Satyapal Malik had prophesied ten months ago that Arvind Kejriwal would be arrested.
Hemant Soren was arrested only a month back in February, in a land related case.
AAP has moved to the Supreme Court against the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal. The Apex Court will hear Arvind Kejriwal arrest case today. The Delhi Chief Minister to argue his own case in the SC against ED.
