Punjab CM Mann to meet Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail on April 30: AAP sources
Apr 28, 2024
New Delhi [India], April 28 : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is scheduled to meet his Delhi counterpart in Tihar jail on April 30, Aam Aadmi Party sources said on Sunday.
This will be Punjab's Chief Minister's second meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, who has been lodged in Tihar jail in connection with an excise-policy linked money-laundering case.
After meeting Delhi Chief Minister, Mann said that Arvind Kejriwal is just an accused but he is being treated like a dreaded criminal.
"I met Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi today. He is just an accused but he is being treated like a dreaded criminal...Aam Aadmi Party is an idea. You can catch one Kejriwal but how will you catch lakhs of Kejriwal that have been born? Idea can't be jailed," he told the media.
Mann further said that Arvind Kejriwal who is 'kattar imaandaar' (honest man).
"Arvind Kejriwal who is 'kattar imaandaar' (honest man), who started the politics of transparency and ended the BJP's politics is being treated like this," he said.
Earlier on April 25, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's plea against his arrest and said that he did not cooperate with the central agency despite multiple summons issued to him.
The ED told the apex court that Arvind Kejriwal was avoiding interrogation by not remaining present before the investigating officer despite being summoned nine times
The ED said that the agency has been able to recover key evidence that directly reveals the role of Kejriwal in processes and activities relating to the proceeds of crime.
Kejriwal had approached the top court challenging his arrest by ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case. The apex court had earlier asked the Central Agency to file its response to Kejriwal's plea.
The Delhi CM had challenged a Delhi High Court judgment that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
Kejriwal, while filing an appeal in the apex court, contended that his arrest after the announcement of the general elections was "motivated by extraneous considerations."
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.
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.
