Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The timing of bail for Sanjay Singh could not have been more apt for the AAP, as it came when it is facing the worst crisis with its mascot Arvind Kejriwal landing in jail.
Not just the timing of the bail, it also gave the party a moral standing and morale booster with the Supreme Court saying that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not produced any evidence so that it could prolong his incarceration.
One of the accused, Dinesh Arora, who turned approver, had claimed that he delivered Rs 2 crore to Singh’s associate, an allegation he had made only in his tenth statement to the ED investigating the money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
His bail order also came a day after Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody while his party colleagues and top leaders Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain continue to remain in jail.
The BJP is trying to project the bail to argue that AAP cannot now accuse the ED, which did not oppose his bail after the Supreme Court made some plain speak, of working at the behest of the Modi government. The ED did not oppose the bail plea to avoid the Supreme Court making adverse remarks.
As he walked out of the jail late on Wednesday night, Singh spelt out his action plan. "This is not the time to celebrate but to fight. Our senior leaders Kejriwal, Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia are still being kept behind the bars. I have confidence that the locks of the jail will break and they will come out," he said.
With AAP being run by second-rung leaders after Kejriwal’s arrest, the immediate relief for the party will be that it will get the services of at least one of the four top leaders to design and lead their protests and Lok Sabha campaign and communication with I.N.D.I.A. leaders.
His experience and seniority will help the AAP in enhancing its coordination and cooperation with the Opposition allies in the Lok Sabha campaign. He has acted as a bridge between Kejriwal and senior leaders like Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge.
One of the main tasks before Singh will be to tame disgruntled leaders during elections, not just in Delhi but in Punjab and other places.
The 52-year-old leader from UP’s Sultanpur, a diploma holder in mining engineering who came out of jail after six months, has cross party connections. Also, the Rajya Sabha MP is known for his oratory skills and is known to quickly grasp the pulse on the ground .
AAP’s strongest voice in Parliament, he has earned the respect of the cadre and has been in charge of the party in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Singh had entered public service in 1994 when he started ‘Sultanpur Samaj Sewa Sangathan’ to work among the poor. He organised blood donation camps, health camps and campaigned for people's rights.
Besides, he worked on hawkers' rights where he met socialist leader Raghu Thakur of the Democratic Socialist Party besides working with the Azad Sewa Samiti which later became a part of the National Hawkers' Association. Singh joined Kejriwal in India Against Corruption, the precursor of AAP of which he was one of the founder members.