The Enforcement Directorate detained Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, on Thursday night concerning a money laundering investigation on the liquor policy issue. At the time of his detention in a criminal case, Kejriwal was India’s first chief minister in office. Hours after the Delhi High Court denied the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) protection from arrest, the ED took action.
Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP, declared he would not resign as Delhi’s chief minister. The JP Nadda-led party has sought Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation, while the Aam Aadmi Party has called for nationwide protests outside the BJP offices.
Key Aam Aadmi Party figures like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh are behind bars, creating a leadership vacuum. Sunita Kejriwal, the spouse of Amit Shah, and Saurabh Bharadwaj, the cabinet member, could potentially spearhead the party’s candidatures in the Lok Sabha elections.
The latest information on Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest is as follows:
- The Delhi Police, stepping up city security, have installed multiple layers of barricading on the roads leading to the BJP headquarters. The move was made in response to the Aam Aadmi Party’s demand for a protest outside the Delhi office of the BJP at 10:00 am. The traffic police expect many AAP workers, so they ask commuters to stay away from routes that lead into central Delhi.
No roads are going to the central Delhi offices of the BJP and the ED. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has announced that the ITO Metro station will be closed today from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm due to a police recommendation. - After his apprehension, Arvind Kejriwal was taken to the Enforcement Directorate’s central Delhi headquarters at 11:25 p.m. He was spotted in a sports utility vehicle, seated in the rear seat.
- A 10-person team from the Enforcement Directorate, under the direction of an additional director-level officer, conducted searches at Flagstaff Road, where Arvind Kejriwal lives in the Civil Lines neighbourhood of Delhi. Two hours after the ED team arrived at the Delhi CM’s home, he was taken into custody. The authorities questioned Arvind Kejriwal before his arrest.
- Today, Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to appear in court. To question him, the Enforcement Directorate will request his custody. The arrest of AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh is the 16th by the ED in this matter. Arvind Kejriwal had disregarded nine of the agency’s summonses for interrogation.
- After a protracted attempt to skirt the law, the BJP said that Kejriwal had now reaped the consequences of his actions. “Kejriwal’s arrest represents a victory over corruption, and he should immediately step down. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva stated, “It is an insult to constitutional norms for leaders of the Kejriwal party to say that Kejriwal will run the government from jail.”
- Minister for Delhi Saurabh Bharadwaj asserted that the agency searched Arvind Kejriwal’s home from top to bottom. He added that, from his house, the ED had only discovered ₹70,000. He claimed that Kejriwal’s cell phone had been taken. “The ED didn’t get any evidence, property documents, illegal money, or money trail,” he said.
- The leader of the AAP, Atishi, said that the party had requested a midnight hearing at the Supreme Court to overturn Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. Reports state that no special bench was arranged on Thursday night. “He (Kejriwal) will remain Delhi’s chief minister.” He will manage the government from prison if necessary. Since he has not been found guilty, no law prevents him from operating the government from prison, she told reporters.
- Arvind Kejriwal’s detention was called the “murder of democracy” by AAP leader Gopal Rai. He instructed AAP members to stage demonstrations in front of BJP offices. “I urge my compatriots to demonstrate against this dictatorship in front of BJP offices nationwide. Rai, a minister in the Delhi administration, stated, “We will gather at the AAP office at 10 am on Friday and then protest outside the BJP headquarters.”
- Congress and the NCP (SP), allies of the AAP in the India alliance, supported Arvind Kejriwal. The Congress claimed that the BJP was panicking ahead of the polls, causing the opposition a lot of trouble.
- Kejriwal’s detention, according to NCP (SP) leader and fellow AAP ally Sharad Pawar, “shows the depth to which the BJP will stoop for power.” Pawar posted on X. News Agency, “‘INDIA’ stands united against this unconstitutional action against Arvind Kejriwal.” According to ANI, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the Congress, is scheduled to visit Arvind Kejriwal or his family on Friday in an effort to express support for the politician.
