DELHI: A day after his bail ended, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday surrendered at the Tihar jail. The Supreme Court granted bail in the excise policy-linked money laundering case ended on June 1.
He was granted the relief for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections.
Before surrendering, Kejriwal paid homage at Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat, offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place and addressed AAP leaders and workers at the party office.
“I am going back to jail not because I was involved in corruption but because I raised my voice against dictatorship,” Kejriwal said in his address. “I was given a 21-day (relief) by the Supreme Court. These 21 days were unforgettable. I did not waste even a minute. I campaigned to save the country. The AAP is not important, it is secondary. The country comes first.”
Kejriwal said he was going back to jail not because he was involved in corruption but because he had raised his voice against “dictatorship”.
Interim Bail
Kejriwal was released from jail on May 10 on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls.
The bail expired on June 1, the day when the seventh and last phase of the general elections was held.
Address to AAP
Addressing AAP workers and leaders at the party’s office before surrendering at the Tihar jail, Kejriwal said he campaigned during the Lok Sabha polls to “save” the country. “I am going back to jail not because I was involved in corruption but because I raised my voice against dictatorship,” he said.
Kejriwal asserted that all exit polls predicting a third term for the BJP-led NDA at the Centre were “fake”.
“Yesterday, exit polls were out and I can give you in writing that they are fake. In Rajasthan, there are 25 parliamentary seats but one exit poll gave them 33 seats. What was the reason that they had to release fake exit poll results?” he said, targeting the BJP.
Exit polls on Saturday predicted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will retain power for a third straight term, with the NDA expected to win a big majority in the polls.
“They are not forming a government on June 4. These exit polls are mind games to drive you into depression,” Kejriwal told AAP workers and leaders. “I have told all the INDIA bloc parties to be vigilant and not let their counting agents leave early. Counting agents have to stay till the end when the EVM votes and VVPATs are tallied. Even if the candidate is losing, they have to stay till the end.”
The counting of votes of the general elections will be taken up on June 4.
“I was given a 21-day (relief) by the Supreme Court. These 21 days were unforgettable. I did not waste even a minute. I campaigned to save the country. The AAP is not important, it is secondary. The country comes first,” Kejriwal said.
He claimed that Prime Minister Modi accepted in an interview that not even a single penny has been recovered in connection with the excise policy case. “He said that I am an ‘experienced thief’,” the chief minister said
Before reaching the party office, Kejriwal paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Rajghat and then offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.
“I paid obeisance at Rajghat. Gandhiji is our inspiration for ending dictatorship. I went to the Hanuman Mandir. I have the blessings of Bajrangbali. June 4 is Tuesday. Bajrangbali will destroy dictatorship,” he added.
Protests, Detentions
Meanwhile, the police detained several BJP leaders and workers, including the party’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva, who were protesting against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to the Rajghat ahead of his scheduled surrender at Tihar jail.
Delhi Police said some protesters were removed from the Rajghat area to maintain law and order.
“To maintain law and order, some protesters were removed from Rajghat area and were taken to Kamla Market Police Station,” a senior police officer said.
Around 100 BJP workers, including Sachdeva, have been detained at the police station, BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said.
Lashing out at Kejriwal’s visit to Rajghat, Sachdeva said, “A person who is behind bars for the liquor scam is going to Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.”
“Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers could not even provide proper water facility for the people of Delhi and everyone knows that he is a thief,” he told PTI Videos.
Kejriwal offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place on Sunday after visiting the Rajghat.
In Judicial Custody
Later, a court sent D Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5 in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise scam.
Duty Judge Sanjeev Aggarwal passed the order after the chief minister was produced before the court through video conference after surrendering at Tihar jail upon the expiry of his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls.
The judge passed the order on an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate, seeking an extension of judicial custody by 14 days.
The application was moved by the ED on May 20 while Kejriwal was out on interim bail.
The court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5, noting that the judge concerned was scheduled to pass an order on his interim bail plea on health grounds on that day.
(With PTI inputs)
