Arvind Kejriwal arrested by ED in Delhi excise policy case

The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to the AAP national convenor from any coercive action by the agency.

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal on Friday was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, becoming the second Chief Minister after Hemant Soren to be taken into custody by the central agency in 50 days.

A combative AAP said Kejriwal “is the Delhi Chief Minister and will remain Delhi Chief Minister”, as the ED moved swiftly hours after the Delhi High Court refused to entertain his plea against any coercive action by the agency in the case.

Kejriwal's arrest immediately attracted Opposition leaders' ire with top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleging that a “scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy”, while Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said that the BJP government “sinks to despicable depths” after the “unjust targeting of brother” Hemant Soren.

The investigators landed up at Kejriwal’s official residence in the evening where they conducted searches and questioned the Chief Minister. His arrest was recorded around 8:30 pm.

A large number of AAP leaders and workers had gathered at Kejriwal’s residence who shouted slogans in favour of the Chief Minister, who rose to prominence as an anti-corruption crusader.

AAP has been alleging that the ED was dancing to the tunes of the Narendra Modi government, which wants to prevent him from campaigning in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

His arrest will be recorded as the first of a sitting Chief Minister in the country's history. Technically, Soren's arrest was recorded after he submitted his resignation.

Kejriwal had refused to appear before the ED in the case at least nine times alleging that the agency's summons were illegal while the investigators approached court against him for ignoring the summons.

His former cabinet colleagues Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain are also presently in judicial custody in money laundering cases. Sisodia and Singh were arrested in the money laundering case linked to excise policy. BRS leader K Kavita was also arrested in this case last week.

Delhi Minister Atishi said Kejriwal will continue as the chief minister and run the city government from prison, if needed. "He will continue as the chief minister of Delhi. If need be, he will run the government from jail. There is no rule that stops him from running the government from jail," Atishi said.

Rahul said, “While capturing all the institutions including the media, breaking up the parties, extorting money from companies, freezing the account of the main opposition party was not enough for the 'devilish power'. Now, the arrest of the elected Chief Ministers has also become a common thing. I.N.D.I.A. will give a befitting reply to this.”

“Ahead of (Lok Sabha) elections 2024, driven by fear of a decade of failures and the imminent defeat, the fascist BJP government sinks to despicable depths by arresting Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, following the unjust targeting of brother Hemant Soren,” Stalin said adding the “relentless persecution of Opposition leaders smacks of a desperate witch-hunt."