In a renewed criticism aimed at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal following the Delhi High Court’s rejection of the ruling AAP’s plea for an urgent hearing on his arrest in the Liquor Policy Scam case, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra affirmed on Sunday that the legal actions taken against him were in accordance with the law of the land. Speaking to ANI, the BJP spokesperson stated, “Our courts believe that whatever happened (the action against Kejriwal) was absolutely according to the law.” Commenting on the High Court’s dismissal of AAP’s plea regarding Kejriwal’s arrest in the liquor policy case, the BJP leader added, “He approached the court seeking immediate relief from his custody to the ED until March 28, alleging it to be unlawful.
However, the Delhi High Court declined an immediate hearing as requested by AAP and did not stay any previous orders.” “After examining all the documents and evidence, the court concluded that the actions taken were entirely lawful. Two days ago, AAP attempted to escalate the matter to the Supreme Court at midnight, but later withdrew the petition,” the BJP leader further stated. On the evening of March 21, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Kejriwal after questioning him at his residence regarding the excise policy case. This arrest followed the Delhi High Court’s rejection of his petition seeking to prevent the central probe agency from taking coercive action against him.
The case revolves around alleged irregularities and money laundering in the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy in 2021-22, which was subsequently scrapped due to allegations of irregularities. Kejriwal moved the Delhi High Court on Saturday challenging his arrest and the remand order to the ED. His legal team argued that both the arrest and remand orders were illegal and demanded his immediate release. The arrest of Kejriwal dealt a blow to the INDIA bloc, a coalition of over 20 opposition parties, at a critical juncture when they were still negotiating seat-sharing agreements in various states ahead of the general elections.
While several INDIA leaders supported Kejriwal, accusing the BJP and the Centre of exerting pressure on the opposition, the BJP refuted all such claims. The ED, which was granted custody of Kejriwal until March 28 by the lower court, alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was the primary beneficiary of the proceeds of crime in the alleged liquor scam. Two AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, are already in judicial custody in connection with the excise policy case. The ensuing war of words between the BJP and opposition parties continues after the arrest of the first sitting Chief Minister by any agency ahead of the Lok Sabha Polls.
