According to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) officials familiar with the situation, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is set to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently incarcerated in Tihar jail, on April 15 within the prison complex.
If the plans proceed as scheduled, this will mark the first encounter between Kejriwal and Mann since the Delhi CM’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. A previous meeting between the two CMs, along with AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, initially planned for Wednesday, was postponed. Jail authorities attributed the delay to confusion in the names provided and security apprehensions.
While Singh claimed that despite jail officials issuing a token, the meeting was denied, officials clarified that the proposed rendezvous was canceled last-minute due to an error in the appointment booking process.
Kejriwal, who serves as the AAP national convener, was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. Presently, he is confined in jail number 2 within the Tihar prison complex.
In Delhi’s correctional facilities, each inmate is entitled to nominate ten individuals who may visit them twice weekly, with a maximum of three visitors allowed per meeting. These nominated individuals must be vetted by the jail superintendent.
Regarding the intended meeting on April 15, Director General (Prisons) Sanjay Baniwal stated, “Mann being Punjab’s chief minister, we have arranged proceedings as per protocol. Since we’re unaware of his prior commitments, we’ve requested officials to confirm his meeting date with the Delhi CM for either April 15 or 16. He can meet Kejriwal on either of these dates.”
In another development, AAP Members of Parliament from Punjab convened with Sunita Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal’s spouse, at the chief minister’s official residence on Thursday evening. They expressed solidarity with the party’s convener, emphasizing their unified support during this challenging period. The MPs conveyed the public’s discontent over Kejriwal’s detention and affirmed that voters would respond to his arrest through ballots in Delhi and Punjab, echoing the slogan, “Jail ka Jawab Vote Se” (Vote for the Response to Jail).
