DELHI: Just weeks ahead of the Indian national parliamentary elections, New Delhi Chief Minister and critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Arvind Kejriwal, was arrested on Thursday.
Arvind Kejriwal, whose party Aam Aadmi Party swept the last state general elections in Delhi followed by Punjab state, has become the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a probe into liquor policies.
This arrest comes just two months after Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren, another prominent opposition leader, was arrested; Soren had resigned as CM shortly before his arrest, paving the way for Champai Soren to assume leadership.
Despite Kejriwal’s arrest, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership affirmed that he would continue as chief minister, asserting that the national capital would still be governed from jail. This development follows another high-profile arrest last week in connection with the liquor probe when BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested in Hyderabad and brought to New Delhi.
Kavitha’s arrest hinted at Kejriwal being the next target for the ED. A recent high court order further facilitated this, as the court refused to grant Kejriwal protection from any coercive action by the agency. Shortly after this verdict, ED officials executed a search warrant at Kejriwal’s Civil Lines residence and took him into custody.
Kejriwal had challenged the ED’s summons in court, arguing that they were unconstitutional. However, the court’s recent decision indicated that it would not intervene in the case at this stage.
