BJP remained critical of the corruption charges against Kejriwal and said that bail doesn't mean acquittal in a case.
After the Supreme Court granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday in a corruption case registered by CBI in the alleged excise policy scam, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) hailed the verdict by posting on X, ‘Satyamev Jayate.’ Meanwhile, the BJP remained critical of the corruption charges against Kejriwal and said that bail doesn’t mean acquittal in a case.
Former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who also recently secured bail in the excise policy case, said the victory doesn’t only imply victory of truth but also exposes the lies of the BJP.
“It has been proven once again that there is no other politician as true, honest and patriotic as Arvind Kejriwal. BJP hatched thousands of conspiracy to arrest him. An honest man who was working to improve the lives of people was jailed, there is no greater sin than this in the history of democracy. Today, this is not a victory of truth, lies have also been exposed,” said Sisodia.
#WATCH | Delhi: Supreme Court grants bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case registered by CBI in the alleged excise policy scam.Former Delhi Deputy CM & AAP leader Manish Sisodia says, “It has been proven once again that there is no other politician as true,… pic.twitter.com/9XQIIPZHWx
— ANI (@ANI) September 13, 2024
The AAP chief will now leave the jail after already having been granted interim bail in the money laundering case of the ED. Kejriwal was first arrested by the ED on March 21 in a money laundering case linked with the alleged liquor policy scam. He was arrested by the CBI in a corruption case on June 26 while he was in the custody of the ED.
‘Bail Doesn’t Mean Acquittal’: BJP
The BJP was quick to respond to the Supreme Court verdict granting bail to Kejriwal, by saying that he has not been yet acquitted in the excise policy case. Reacting to the court order, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said, “Grant of bail doesn’t mean acquittal. Kejriwal being stopped from discharging duty is an indictment of him in these charges.”
Setting conditions for the bail, the top court restricted Kejriwal from entering the Chief Minister’s Office or signing files. The AAP leader agreed to these conditions, as imposed by another bench while granting him bail in the ED case.
Meanwhile, BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya remarked that Kejriwal will be posted back in jail, as it’s a ‘matter of time before he is convicted.’ He further added that the top court may have granted bail to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal but the Apex Court has declined the plea challenging the legality of the arrest.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, while saying that the arrest made by CBI was unjustified, also mentioned that the arrest of Kejriwal by the CBI on June 26 was valid and in compliance with relevant procedural laws.
From ‘Jail Wala’ to ‘Bail Wala CM’: BJP
Demanding the resignation of Kejriwal from the CM post, BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said that he will never step down as he lacks morality. He added that the Supreme Court has granted him conditional bail, and he remains to be an accused.
“The Supreme Court has shown a mirror to ‘kattar beimaan’ AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal once again… He has got conditional bail… The ‘jail wala’ CM is now a ‘bail wala’ CM… The most important is that Arvind Kejriwal CM should resign as per the voice of the people of Delhi… But he will not do that because he does not have even a drop of morality.”
Bhatia mentioned that the Supreme Court busted the propaganda of the AAP by observing that his arrest did not suffer from any illegality and was constitutional. “But Kejriwal’s argument in the court was that his arrest is illegal,” he added.
The release of Kejriwal will boost AAP’s prospects for the upcoming Haryana Assembly polls, where the party is looking to unseat the BJP and challenge its INDIA bloc partner Congress.
