NEW DELHI: Senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday delivered the Delhi Chief Minister’s new message from Tihar Jail: “My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist”. Singh delivered this message from the AAP supremo following his meeting with Punjab CM Bhagwat Mann on Monday in the Tihar Jail complex. Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Sanjay Singh stated: “Arvind Kejriwal, who worked like a son and a brother for the country and the people of Delhi, has sent a message from jail that ‘My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist’…The three-time elected CM of Delhi is made to meet CM Bhagwant Mann through a glass. It is clear from this that the Prime Minister has a feeling of hatred against Arvind Kejriwal…”
#WATCH | AAP MP Sanjay Singh says “Arvind Kejriwal, who worked like a son and a brother for the country and the people of Delhi, has sent a message from jail that ‘My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist’…The three-time elected CM of Delhi is made to meet CM… pic.twitter.com/PC98W6thTJ
— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2024
Sanjay Singh also claimed that efforts are being made 24 hours to demoralise Arvind Kejriwal. “This is Arvind Kejriwal, he is made of a different clay… The more you try to break him, the stronger he will come back…Yesterday, CM Bhagwant Mann became emotional during the meeting. This is an emotional matter for all of us but it is a matter of shame for BJP and PM Modi,” the AAP MP alleged.
#WATCH | AAP MP Sanjay Singh says “…Efforts are being made 24 hours to demoralize Arvind Kejriwal. This is Arvind Kejriwal, he is made of a different clay… The more you try to break him, the stronger he will come back…Yesterday CM Bhagwant Mann became emotional during the… pic.twitter.com/BSDnrzgdxM
— ANI (@ANI) April 16, 2024
Delhi Court Extends Kejriwal’s Judicial Custody
The Rouse Avenue court on Monday extended the judicial custody of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal till April 23, 2024. The Delhi CM attended the court session via video conferencing. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea by Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the agency and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to give an early hearing of the case as sought by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal. Kejriwal, who was arrested on the night of March 21, was produced virtually before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts on the expiry of his judicial custody.
The Court said it is extending custody until April 23, when judicial custody of the co-accused (BRS leader K Kavitha) is also ending. Earlier, AAP leader Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court judgement that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
On April 9, the High Court dismissed his plea for release from jail and rejected his argument of political vendetta amid the looming Lok Sabha elections. The High Court had said that Kejriwal’s absence from nine ED summons over six months undermined any claims of special privilege as Chief Minister, suggesting his arrest was an inevitable consequence of his non-cooperation.
Filing the appeal against the High Court judgement, Kejriwal said that there is no material in the possession of the Enforcement Directorate on the basis of which an inference of guilt can be made under Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The arrest was made solely based on the subsequent, contradictory, and highly belated statements of co-accused who have now turned approvers, the appeal stated. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22.