Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja visited the residence of jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to meet with his family.
In a statement on X, Raja conveyed his dissent regarding Kejriwal’s arrest.
“A CPI delegation led by myself visited the residence of imprisoned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and met his wife and daughter to extend our solidarities. CPI National Secretaries Dr Bhalchandra Kango, Rama Krushna Panda and CPI Delhi Secretary Dinesh Chandra Varshaneya accompanied me in expressing our collective disapproval of Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest,” he said.
“Arvind Kejriwal is a victim of BJP’s politics of abusing central agencies like ED & CBI for their own political interests. These attempts to silence the opposition will be defeated by the people,” D Raja added.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj accused the BJP of bullying other parties.
“It is clear that bullying is going on. There is no law and order. You have stopped us from going to the party office. How the AAP will contest the elections? Under which law does the police have the right to control us? AAP’s ministers cannot go to the party office. They cannot even go to their official residence… We have asked for time from the Election Commission. We would want the EC to take action on this matter as a neutral agency” he said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Chief Minister was on Friday remanded to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for seven days i.e., till March 28, following his arrest by the probe agency in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case associated with a money laundering investigation.
The case involves alleged irregularities and money laundering related to the formulation and execution of the 2022 Delhi excise policy, which was subsequently annulled.
During its presentation to the court, the ED asserted that the Delhi CM is the primary conspirator and orchestrator in soliciting kickbacks from businessmen. The agency additionally alleged Kejriwal’s direct participation in shaping the Excise policy. The ED counsel contended that Vijay Nair, who served as the media coordinator for AAP, was operating on behalf of Delhi CM Kejriwal.
The agency asserted that Nair, who resides near Kejriwal’s residence, served as an intermediary between AAP and the South group. The ED counsel additionally alleged that not only were the proceeds of crime totaling Rs 100 crore, but profits generated by bribe givers also constituted proceeds of crime. The counsel stated that the agency had traced Hawala trails amounting to Rs 45 crore, utilized in the Goa Election.