NEW DELHI: After paying obeisance at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat and the Hanuman mandir in Connaught Place, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal surrendered at Tihar Jail at 5 pm on Sunday after his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court in the excise policy-linked money laundering case ended on June 1. The BJP, however, staged a protest against the AAP chief’s visit to Rajghat, citing his alleged involvement in the liquor scam.
A Delhi court sent the Delhi chief minister to judicial custody till June 5 in the alleged excise scam. Duty judge Sanjeev Aggarwal passed the order after the chief minister was produced before the court through videoconference after surrendering at Tihar jail upon the expiry of his interim bail granted by the Supreme Court for campaigning in the Lok Sabha polls.
The judge passed the order on an application filed by the Enforcement Directorate, seeking an extension of judicial custody by 14 days.
The application was moved by the ED on May 20, while Mr Kejriwal was out on interim bail.
The court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till June 5, noting that the judge concerned was scheduled to pass an order on his interim bail plea on health grounds on that day.
At Tihar jail, after the completion of a medical examination and other formalities, Mr Kejriwal was taken to his separate cell in jail number 2, where he was previously lodged, sources said.
According to sources, whatever facilities he was provided with earlier will continue. The Delhi CM will be permitted to meet the government officials regarding the work as per the names approved and submitted in court. He can also meet family members twice a week.
Before surrendering, the AAP supreme, accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, children and party leaders, paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi. He also offered prayers at the Hanuman temple and addressed AAP leaders and workers at the party office.
During his address, Mr Kejriwal said, "I am going back to jail not because I was involved in corruption but because I raised my voice against dictatorship... I was given a 21-day (relief) by the Supreme Court. These 21 days were unforgettable. I did not waste even a minute. I campaigned to save the country. The AAP is not important; it is secondary. The country comes first," he said.
He also asserted that all exit polls predicting a third term for the BJP-led NDA at the Centre were "fake". "They are not forming a government on June 4. These exit polls are mind games to drive you into depression," the Delhi CM said in his last address before going to jail.
AAP leaders, including ministers Atishi, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj; Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak; and party leaders Durgesh Pathak, Rakhi Birla and Reena Gupta, were also present.
Protesting against Mr Kejriwal’s visit to Rajghat, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said that Gandhi Ji's ideology has no place in Mr Kejriwal's life as he has removed Bapu's photo from his media backdrops and secretariat.
“It is shocking to see him, a person who is behind bars for the liquor scam, shamelessly visiting the pious Samadhi of the Mahatma, who all his life worked for prohibition,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Mr Kejriwal bid his family adieu before leaving his official residence to surrender at Tihar jail. Before leaving for a scheduled visit to Rajghat and the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place, he hugged his children and touched his parents' feet. He waved goodbye to his parents before his car sped alongside a long trail of vehicles carrying the AAP leaders, who accompanied the chief minister to his surrender.
Sharing visuals of the family's moments together before Mr Kejriwal's surrender, the AAP wrote in a post on X, "Bharat Mata's brave son Kejriwal Ji took blessings from his parents and hugged his children before going to jail to save democracy. Mr Kejriwal will not bow down to dictatorship."
In another post, the party wrote, "It is this feeling that scares the dictator. With a smile on his face, the Delhi CM headed towards Rajghat to pay homage to the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. Today, Kejriwal Ji will go to jail in this fight to save democracy."
