From left: Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia
Credit: X/@AamAadmiParty
New Delhi: In his first remarks after being released from the Tihar Jail, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he will continue to fight 'anti-national' forces working to weaken the nation, and asserted the incarceration has only strengthened his resolve.
He stepped out of the jail on Friday evening to a resounding welcome by party leaders and supporters who had gathered outside the prison amid heavy rains to welcome their leader who was released as the Supreme Court granted him bail after five months of incarceration in the Delhi excise policy case.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Sandeep Pathak and others celebrate as they wait for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal outside the Tihar Jail amid rainfall, in New Delhi, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
PTI
"Truth triumphs over conspiracy (Sajish pe satya ki jeet hui hai)," Kejriwal posted on X after coming out of the jail.
Kejriwal's bail comes as a big boost to the Aam Aadmi Party, which is seeking to make forays in Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir in the coming elections and also gearing up to fight to retain power in Delhi where polls are due early next year.
The AAP demanded that the BJP apologise to the country for keeping the "staunchly honest" leader in prison and asserted the apex court bail in the excise policy case has exposed the saffron party's "lies".
The AAP dubbed CBI and ED as the government's "tota-maina".
Hitting out at the CM, the BJP said he should immediately step down as the SC has granted him only conditional bail and he continues to be an accused in a corruption case.
"Accused of corruption, Arvind Kejriwal has become 'a chief minister on bail from a chief minister in jail'. What influence, reputation and stature are left of this corrupt chief minister who will have to report to the investigation officer of the case every Monday and Thursday," BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia told a press conference.
After being released from jail, the AAP supremo held a roadshow from Chandgiram Akhara to his official residence in Civil Lines along with a large number of party leaders and workers carrying placards hailing him.
As the convoy moved on the nearly four kilometre stretch slowly, it also impacted the traffic flow in the busy evening hours.
After reaching his residence, the CM addressed the party workers and supporters again and said Kejriwal is not important but the country is. He also said the country is going through a "critical phase" as some "anti-national forces" are trying to weaken it.
"I have always fought with these anti-national forces and will keep on doing it. My fault was not that I committed any corruption, my fault was that I raised my voice against those anti-national forces so I had to go to jail," he added.
"Efforts are being made to weaken and judiciary, and threaten the judges. Now, efforts are being made to weaken the Election Commission and capture the ED and CBI," he said.
The CM sought the blessings of his parents who welcomed him with traditional rituals. He hugged party collogue Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Delhi former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal being blessed by his parents as he arrives at his residence after being released from Tihar Jail on bail, in New Delhi, Friday, Sept. 13, 2024.
PTI
The SC granted bail to Kejriwal in case lodged by the CBI in connection with the excise policy 'scam', saying prolonged incarceration amounts to unjust deprivation of liberty.
Observing that Kejriwal's arrest by the CBI was unjustified, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan came down heavily on the CBI, saying it must dispel the notion of being a "caged parrot".
Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and senior leaders including Mann and Sisodia were waiting outside the prison to welcome Kejriwal.
Addressing party workers from the sunroof of a vehicle outside the jail, Kejriwal raised slogans of 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram'.
The chief minister, who was arrested on March 21 by the ED in the excise policy-linked money laundering case and then by CBI in June in the corruption case linked to the policy, stressed that the jail time has strengthened his resolve.
"I have struggled a lot in my life and have braved huge difficulties but God has supported me at every step. He has supported me because I was truthful. They put me in jail. They thought that by putting me in jail, they will break my morale. My resolve has grown 100 times stronger and my strength has grown 100 times.
"The thick walls of the jail and the bars cannot break me," he said. "My life is dedicated to the nation. Every moment of my life, every drop of my blood is dedicated to the nation." Slogans like "Jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal chhoot gaye", "Bhrashtachar ka ek hi kaal, Kejriwal, Kejriwal" rent the air.
The 56-year-old, who has been the fulcrum of the AAP's election campaigns, will have a crucial role to play if the party were to succeed in mounting any significant challenge to the BJP and the Congress in Haryana which votes on October 5.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the AAP will defeat the BJP in Haryana and Delhi. "Kejriwal's presence will strengthen us," he said.
The AAP chief was arrested by the CBI on June 26. He has challenged in the apex court the Delhi High Court's August 5 order which upheld his arrest.
On July 12, the apex court had granted him interim bail in the money laundering case registered by the ED.