Arvind Kejriwal Arrest Highlight: PMLA court, SC hearing likely on Friday after Delhi CM's arrest

Goa Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Amit Palekar on Thursday hit out at the BJP over the arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate and said the action is meant to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Palekar said Kejriwal's arrest in an excise policy-linked money laundering case is nothing but an act of political vendetta and shows the BJP fears losing the Lok Sabha polls.

"Shocked by the news of the arrest of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. Coming hard on the heels of the crippling freeze on Congress bank accounts, it is clear that a systematic effort is on to subvert Indian democracy during our general elections," tweets Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

BJP leader Shehzad Poonwalla says, "... The people of Delhi had voted you into power to make better 'paathshala' but you opened a 'madhushala'. When action is being taken against this corruption with the nod of the court, when you skipped 9 summons of the ED, you still play the victim card. The SC has traced a money trail of ₹338 crore... Walking in the footsteps of Lalu Prasad Yadav, he did not cooperate with the investigation and now talks about running the government from jail..."

Congress MP Deepender Hooda says, "The working style of the Bharatiya Janata Party government of targeting all the opposition leaders of the country by misusing government agencies is not new. In the last few years, efforts have been made to crush all the strong opposition voices in the country. There is no such party left in the opposition, there is no such strong leader left in the opposition who is not the target of the BJP government and I see this action in the same context. I see it as unfortunate but not surprising..."

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav tweets, "Those who are themselves imprisoned in the fear of defeat What will 'they' do by imprisoning someone else? BJP knows that it will not come to power again, due to this fear, it wants to remove the opposition leaders from the public by any means at the time of elections, arrest is just an excuse. This arrest will give birth to a new people's revolution."

CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury tweets, "Strongly condemn the arrest of Delhi CM, Shri Arvind Kejriwal by the ED. It’s the second sitting CM of the INDIA bloc to be arrested. Clearly, Modi and the BJP are in panic over people’s rejection in the ongoing elections. All opposition leaders who defected and joined the BJP are protected and patronised. They are the ‘Satya Harishchandras’! These arrests will only cement people’s desire to defeat BJP, defend democracy and Indian Constitution."

Former Chattisgarh CM and Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel tweets, "Those who do not join BJP will go to jail. Dictatorship is at its peak. Remember, ego is God's food. We are all united against dictatorship."

I stand in solidarity with Arvind Kejriwal ji. This is yet another politically motivated arrest by the ED at the behest of the BJP Government to suppress the voice of the opposition & undermine the electorate at large. We are resilient and united in our fight for constitutional democracy.

AAP moves the Supreme Court for quashing the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by ED. AAP has asked for an urgent hearing by the Supreme Court tonight itself.

A scared dictator wants to create a dead democracy.

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.

INDIA will give a befitting reply to this.

TMC leader Kunal Ghosh says, "This is vindictive politics ahead of Lok Sabha elections. BJP knows it is losing from every state that is why it is targeting non-BJP parties and leaders and pressuring them by using Central Agencies..."

The financial crimes probe agency has so far filed six charge sheets in the excise policy probe against 31 individuals and entities, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP parliamentarian Sanjay Singh. Both Sisodia and Singh are currently lodged in Tihar jail. Kejriwal is the 32nd accused to be arrested in the case.

Till date, the ED has conducted searches on 245 locations across the country including Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai and other places. It has also attached assets worth ₹128.79 crore under PMLA in the case.

The agency has also pegged the loss in the excise policy irregularities at ₹2,873 crore.

Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal says, "We have received the info that Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested by the ED... After the independence, Arvind Kejriwal is one of those leaders who worked for the poor and people of Delhi. He ended corruption... BJP was not able to digest this and he has been arrested... I would say this to the BJP that they can arrest him but not his ideas, they will have to pay for this and I condemn this...."

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's lawyers are going to the Supreme Court Registrar's house. Arvind Kejriwal's lawyers will demand an immediate hearing from the registrar: AAP

AAP MLA Rakhi Birla detained by Delhi Police while protesting outside the residence of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Excise policy case.

Protesters detained, traffic movement restored

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva says, "Arvind Kejriwal was continuously making excuses in the liquor policy scam since 2020-21 and the kind of political theatrics he was doing has been put to an end today. Today finally the truth has won and I believe that the conspiracy hatched by Arvind Kejriwal and his government to push the entire youth into alcoholism was bound to result in this. Truth had to prevail and Arvind Kejriwal had to be punished for his sins."

ED, citing a December 7, 2022 statement recorded by former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s then secretary C Arvind, has claimed he was informed of the decision to carve a 12% profit margin for wholesale private entities in the excise policy at Kejriwal’s residence in March 2021. There were no discussions about handing the wholesale liquor business to private players in meetings held by the group of ministers (GoM) – which comprised Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Kailash Gahlot — before mid-March 2021, C Arvind told ED.

ED has alleged that the South Group paid kickback of ₹100 crore in advance to Vijay Nair (AAP’s then communications in-charge), who was managing this scheme and conspiracy on behalf of the leaders of the AAP.

The agency said in one of court documents last year that - “Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP but a close associate of Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi…”.

Citing businessman Sameer Mahendru’s statement, ED has said the excise policy was the “brainchild” of Kejriwal. It has said that when, to verify Nair’s clout in Delhi government, Mahendru asked him to meet Kejriwal, a FaceTime call with the CM was arranged by Nair. Kejriwal told Mahendru during this video call that Vijay is his boy and that he should trust him, ED has claimed.

ED has claimed that a conspiracy was hatched by political leaders including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and K Kavitha (arrested

last week) among others in the Delhi excise policy. A South Group comprising businessman Sarath Reddy, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and K Kavitha got nine zones out of 32 in Delhi under new excise policy 2021-22. The policy was brought out with an extraordinarily

high 12% profit margin for wholesalers and almost 185% profit margin for the retailers. As per the conspiracy, 6% out of the 12% margin was to be collected back from the wholesalers as kickback to the leaders of AAP, ED has alleged.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest comes in the backdrop of agency establishing that a certain group

of businessmen and politicians from the South were benefitted in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22 in lieu of ₹100 crore bribes paid to the Aam Aadmi Party.

Kejriwal is fourth high profile politician to be arrested in the case after former deputy CM Manish Sisodia, member of parliament

Sanjay Singh and BRS leader K Kavitha.

Special commissioner (law and order) Ravindra Singh Yadav and joint commissioner (central range) Parmaditya taking updates from other officers on the traffic jams on Alipur Road, and issuing necessary directions.

Traffic jam extends for several kilometres in either direction covering Vidhan Sabha to Civil Lines stretch

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva says, "Arvind Kejriwal was continuously making excuses in the liquor policy scam since 2020-21 and the kind of political theatrics he was doing has been put to an end today. Today finally the truth has won and I believe that the conspiracy hatched by Arvind Kejriwal and his government to push the entire youth into alcoholism was bound to result in this. Truth had to prevail and Arvind Kejriwal had to be punished for his sins."

Delhi Minister Atishi said on Kejriwal's arrest, “It is a political conspiracy and not linked to any case or investigation. If they wanted to investigate, ED could have waited for the court's judgement. We have filed an application and are requesting the Supreme Court to grant us an urgent hearing during this night. Arvind Kejariwal will not resign. He is and will remain the Delhi chief minister.”