Mann set to meet Kejriwal at Delhi’s Tihar on April 15: AAP

This will be their first meeting since Kejriwal's March 21 arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi excise policy case.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to meet Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, currently lodged in Tihar jail, on April 15 inside the prison complex, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionaries aware of the matter said on Friday.

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann. (HT file photo)

If all goes as per schedule. this will be first meeting between Kejriwal and Mann since the Delhi chief minister was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21. An earlier meeting between the two chief ministers, along with AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, which was originally proposed for Wednesday, was postponed, with jail officials citing a mix-up in the names and security concerns.

While Singh said that the meeting was not allowed despite jail officials issuing a token, officials said that the proposed meeting was called off at the last minute because of a gaffe in how the appointment was booked.

Kejriwal, the AAP national convener, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe pertaining to alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22. He is currently lodged in jail number 2 in the Tihar prison complex.

Every prisoner in Delhi’s jails is entitled to submit the names of 10 people, who can visit them twice a week — with the caveat that only three visitors are allowed to meet the prisoner at a time. The names of these people must be submitted to the jail superintendent for verification.

Asked about the proposed meet on April 15, director general (prisons) Sanjay Baniwal said, “Mann is the chief minister of Punjab, so we have made arrangements according to protocol. Since we don’t know about his predetermined schedule, we have asked the officials to confirm the date of his meeting with the Delhi CM on either April 15 or 16. He can meet Kejriwal on either of these two dates.”

AAP MPs from Punjab meet Sunita Kejriwal

AAP parliamentarians from Punjab met Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of Arvind Kejriwal, at the chief minister’s official residence late on Thursday evening, and said they stand in solidarity with the party convener. In a statement, AAP said it was the first meeting between AAP MPs from Punjab and Sunita Kejriwal after the chief minister’s arrest.

“During the meeting, the MPs said that they stand with the party with utmost devotion and honesty. We are all united in this hour of crisis. The MPs said that there is tremendous anger among the public against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. The public will reply to his arrest by voting in Delhi and Punjab, ‘Jail ka Jawab Vote Se’,” the AAP said in a statement.