Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal arrested in liquor policy case

With the Lok Sabha elections coming up, Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of the capital of India and the national convenor of Aam Aadmi Party was arrested on Thursday night (21 March) by the Enforcement Directorate in a liquor policy case. The ED presented him before a special PMLA court (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) to procure custody for interrogation on 22nd March. Yesterday the Delhi High Court rejected Kejriwal’s plea for protection from any forceful action by the ED. Kejriwal is the first working Chief Minister to be arrested.

The ED started its investigation by holding search operations in the house of the Delhi Chief Minister in Civil Lines. ED reported to the Rouse Avenue Court that Kejriwal was directly involved in forming the liquor policy.

Anna Hazare on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal

Social activist Kisan Baburao Anna Hazare, who was the leader of the anti-corruption movement in 2011 from which Aam Aadmi Party made its inception, remarked that Kejriwal once used to work with him and raise his voice against liquor yet today he is making policies on it. He expressed his grief in this matter and said that he had told his former mentee several times to avoid liquor but Kejriwal has made the policy for wealth.

BJP’s reaction to the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal

National spokesperson of BJP, Gaurav Bhatia said that Arvind Kejriwal who has been the disciple of Anna Hazare used to say that when a person is accused of corruption he should first resign from his position and start his work again only after he is proven innocent. Bhatia added that Arvind Kejriwal defied the ideals of Anna Hazare by involving in an excise policy. He further accused the Congress as the mother of corruption and Kejriwal led AAP as its son. He also said that the same Congress that would have accused Kejriwal of this money laundering case, demanding his imprisonment, is now supporting him.

BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi commented on the incident by marking Kejriwal as the first Chief Minister not to resign from his position even after being held. He said that the Delhi CM is now way ahead of the former CM of Bihar, Lalu Prasad Yadav in this case.

Virendraa Sachdeva, President of the Bhartiya Janata Party in Delhi said that it was clear that the Delhi CM is corrupt since the Delhi Deputy CM and Sanjay Singh had been arrested. He also added that AAP is paying for their deeds and they should understand it.

JDU leader on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal

Kishan Chand Tyagi, Chief General Secretary of the Janata Dal (United), an ally of the BJP said that Arvind Kejriwal, as the CM of Delhi and a former senior officer of the Income Tax Department should have responded to the calls of ED. Arvind Kejriwal has rejected nearly nine calls by the ED till now.

Bengal CM on the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal

Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister of West Bengal and the founder of the Trinamool Congress, however, has criticized the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate in the money laundering case related to excise policy. She called ED’s action to be an open attack on democracy.

Congress reacts to the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal

Digvijaya Singh, Congress MP, condemned Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED and said that by arresting him the central government has set an example that after a change in the government, when a Chief Minister is elected with the votes of the people he can be arrested.