Arvind Kejriwal News highlights: ED says Delhi CM ‘intentionally disobeyed’ 9 summons

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav accused the BJP-led Centre of “using arrests of opposition leaders as a diversion tactic after allegations surfaced of the party's misuse of electoral bonds to ‘extort’ money”.

Yadav said this marks the first instance in the country's history where “extortion” is being carried out through fear tactics. He further claimed that the BJP government arrested opposition leaders to shift public focus away from their alleged wrongdoing.

(PTI)

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: The Enforcement Directorate opposed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest in a reply filed before the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.

They asserted that Kejriwal was given multiple opportunities to cooperate with their investigation through nine summonses, which he “intentionally disobeyed”. The ED also claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was a major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime from the Delhi Liquor Scam, with approximately Rs. 45 crore of these funds allegedly used in the AAP's election campaign for the Goa Assembly elections in 2022.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Dinesh Singh, father of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, said when asked about the Supreme Court granting bail to his son says, "I am not a part of the ED. The ED should tell about it."

Last October, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Sanjay Singh in connection with an alleged money laundering case associated with the Delhi liquor policy scam, which has since been scrapped.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: The BJP criticised the AAP for interpreting the regular bail granted to its leader, Sanjay Singh, in the Delhi excise policy case as a clean chit, questioning whether this implied acceptance of jailed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's involvement in the "scam."

During a press conference, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonwalla stated that with Singh receiving bail from the Supreme Court, the AAP cannot assert that actions by central probe agencies against its leaders constitute “vendetta politics.”

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Regarding the Supreme Court granting bail to AAP MP Sanjay Singh, National Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar said, “Sanjay Singh was arrested and injustice was done to him, he has been released, it is a good thing. Now the truth will come out in front of the country.”

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Rishikesh Kumar, advocate of Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, says, "We wanted him to be released today but procedural things need to be completed...The Supreme Court order has not been uploaded yet. That order needs to be presented in the trial court...It appears that the procedure of submitting the surety will be completed tomorrow morning at 10 am..."

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court granted bail to Sanjay Singh in a money laundering case linked to irregularities in the Delhi excise policy. The decision followed the ED's decision not to contest Singh's bail request.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, speaking to news agency ANI about the Supreme Court granting bail to Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, says, “I welcome the decision of the Supreme Court... This shows that the BJP is misusing the central agencies to suppress and politically arrest opposition leaders. Sanjay Singh has got bail and he can get involved in his party affairs also... Enforcement Directorate has knelt down before BJP... ED has been reduced to the Extortion Department and an Extended Department of the BJP.”

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri speaking to ANI about former Jharkhand CM's wife meeting Delhi CM's wife Arvind Kejriwal's wife, says, “She (Sunita Kejriwal) will be launched (in politics)...She met Kalpana (Soren) in 'Sheesh Mahal' and they hugged each other...Both their husbands are in custody...Arvind Kejriwal was against liquor but ended up doing a liquor scam...Arvind Kejriwal's life story is in the public domain.”

Kalpana Soren, wife of former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, visited Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, at their New Delhi residence on Saturday. She expressed her party's support for Sunita and the incarcerated Delhi chief minister during the meeting.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: AAP MP Sanjay Singh's wife on being asked about bail to her husband by the Supreme Court said that they are not celebrating saying her “three brothers are in jail” referring to the jailed Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyendra Jain.

“This struggle is long and it will continue. Till our three brothers (Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain) are out, we are not celebrating. We thank the court...He (Sanjay Singh) will come tomorrow,” she said.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar, speaking to news agency PTI about the Supreme Court granting bail to MP Sanjay Singh, said that it is a sign that “truth always wins.”

“God is with us. It's a sign that truth always wins. We have been saying that this entire liquor scam was orchestrated from the BJP's office. They couldn't even recover a single penny after 500 raids. Even the court stated that there's no justification for keeping him (Sanjay Singh) in jail as no money trail has been found yet,” she said.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, commenting on the Supreme Court granting bail to Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, said, “I hope that gradually the courts of this country will release everyone, and the truth will prevail.”

Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on October 4, 2023, in connection with the liquor policy case.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: On Supreme Court granting bail to AAP MP Sanjay Singh, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, "...This bail has been granted when ED has not opposed the bail of Sanjay Singh...From today onwards, the AAP cannot claim that any of the agencies particularly the ED or the CBI is indulging in any kind of vendetta politics..."

“There's no stranger party than AAP. They claim that they are a intellectual lot but they're unable to distinguish between an ordinary routine matter of fact bail in an matter and what is clean chit in a case. In over enthusiasm, they've put AAP in further danger…” he added.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: On Supreme Court granting bail to AAP MP Sanjay Singh, AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said, "During the court proceedings of Sanjay Singh's bail petition today, two important things have come to light. First, when the Supreme Court asked ED the whereabouts of the money trail, ED had no answer... Second, the entire case of this so-called excise policy scam with the ED is based on statements given by approvers..."

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: A day after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody until April 15, AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said that Kejriwal will run the government from jail as the party MLAs don't want him to resign.

AAP MLAs of the Delhi assembly also met Sunita Kejriwal, the wife of jailed CM Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday in the national capital.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: “...The Supreme Court said how can it be accepted that a person gave 11 statements, you did not accept his 10 statements and accepted 1 statement which was against Sanjay Singh and put him in jail. The Supreme Court also asked whether any money was recovered or attached. ED has no answer to this...today is a big day for democracy,” said Saurabh Bharadwaj

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: The Rouse Avenue Court on Tuesday heard arguments on the bail application of former Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.

His counsel, Mohit Mathur, said that even after 11 months of completion of the investigation, the agency is not able to say that the alleged bribe money reached Manish Sisodia.

Sisodia is an accused in ED and CBI cases related to the Delhi Excise Policy. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also been arrested in this case by the ED.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: AAP leader Atishi on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to grant bail to the party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in a money-laundering case linked to the excise policy case.

The Delhi minister shared the news of Singh's bail in a post on X and said in Hindi, "Satyameva Jayate."

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Taking a jibe on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's recent remark of mentioning the names of party leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj during interrogation in the excise policy case, BJP national spokesperson Ajay Alok said that a commander looks after his army but here the commander himself has created trouble for his soldiers.

"A commander generally takes care his army, but here the commander himself has created trouble for his soldiers. Arvind Kejriwal took the names of Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj during interrogation. Kerjriwal Ji doesn't want himself to bear the suffering, but he'll make his soldiers suffer," he said.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Taking a jibe on AAP leader Atishi's allegation that she was approached by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to join them or else she'd be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that the "thieves have been exposed."

"People of Delhi are understanding it very well, there is a saying in English that thieves has been exposed," Tiwari told ANI.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: AAP supporters gathered at the ITO foot overbridge in Delhi to denounce Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in the excise policy scam.

Objecting to his detention by the ED, they chanted, ‘Mai bhi Kejriwal, mujhe bhi giraftaar karo’ (I am Kejriwal too. Arrest me as well). "This is a murder of democracy. Kejriwal did so much for the upliftment of women in the city. This is really unfair," a protester said.

Kejriwal was detained on March 21 by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) concerning the now-repealed excise policy case.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in connection with the liquor policy scam in Delhi. The bail was granted after recording the statement of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: The Jharkhand BJP on Tuesday termed as a 'political stunt' the claims of AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi that the saffron camp approached her through a "very close" person to join it or be prepared to be nabbed by the Enforcement Directorate within a month.

BJP's Rajya Sabha MP from the state Aditya Sahu alleged that the "AAP leaders have looted people's hard-earned money in liquor scam and now they are shedding crocodile tears" to mislead them.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: “AAP MLAs have come here today to meet Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal to sympathise. We told her that BJP would pressurise and will give baseless statements so that Arvind Kejriwal would resign from the chief minister’s position. Only she will be able to meet him in Tihar jail. Therefore, we told her to give him our message that ‘Arvind Kejriwal is and will be the CM of Delhi’,” Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday asserted that the action against the corrupt will go on and he cannot be deterred by threats and abuses. In an apparent jibe at AAP as well as other opposition leaders the PM said, "Don't you think the corrupt should go to jail. The corrupt are threatening and abusing me. But they can't deter me. Action against each one of the corrupt will continue," Modi said.

Arvind Kejriwal News Live: “When they (opposition leaders) are arrested, they say democracy is being finished but courts and people say corruption is being finished...” BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said.