AAP: BJP and CBI ‘conspiring’ to keep Arvind Kejriwal in jail

AAP criticised the BJP and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly conspiring to keep Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in jail. File | Image credit: PTI

The Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday (August 24, 2024) criticised the BJP and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly conspiring to keep Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in jail in the excise policy case.

There was no immediate response from either the CBI or the BJP to the AAP's allegations.

Senior AAP politicians Manish Sisodia and Atishi alleged that the CBI had sought some time from the Supreme Court to file a reply to Kejriwal's bail plea but had “planted” it in the newspapers.

“The CBI tells the court that its reply to the bail application is not ready and hence the bail hearing needs to be extended by 14 days. On the same day, the CBI's reply is leaked to the media so that it can appear as a one-sided headline in the newspapers,” Mr Sisodia wrote in Hindi on X.

“The CBI is following the BJP's instructions to keep Arvind Kejriwal in jail like a puppet,” he added.

The senior AAP leader assured that the conspiracies hatched for “headline avoidance” will fail and one day truth and honesty will prevail. The agencies may dance to the tune of politics but the Constitution and judiciary stand behind the truth, he said.

The Supreme Court on Friday postponed the hearing of Mr Kejriwal's bail application in the excise policy case to September 5 after the agency sought more time to file its affidavit in the matter.

Mr. Kejriwal has filed two separate petitions challenging the denial of bail and his arrest by the CBI in the case.

The CBI, in its detailed affidavit in response to Mr Kejriwal's petition challenging his arrest, claimed that all critical decisions in formulating the now-scrapped excise policy were taken at the behest of the Delhi Chief Minister and in connivance with the then Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia.

AAP chairman and Delhi Minister Atishi also sharply criticized the CBI in a press conference.

“The CBI affidavit was there, but lies were told before the Supreme Court just to keep Arvind Kejriwal in jail for a few more days,” she alleged.

During Kejriwal's bail hearing, the 'BJP's CBI' had demanded a week's time to file an affidavit, but today it was published in every newspaper, she claimed.

“The question arises as to how the affidavit, which took the CBI a week to prepare yesterday, was printed in all the newspapers today. This means that the CBI is planning to keep Arvind Kejriwal in jail for a few more days,” she said.

“I want to tell the BJP that no matter how hard they try, truth prevails in the end. We saw in the Manish Sisodia case that despite all the efforts of the CBI and the ED, he was exonerated by the Supreme Court,” Ms Atishi said.

She said the AAP was confident that Mr Kejriwal would be released from jail soon and any “conspiracy” hatched by the BJP through the CBI and ED would fail.

Mr. Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21 in a money laundering case related to the excise policy, was granted bail by the court on June 20. The court's bail order was set aside by the Delhi High Court on June 21.

Mr. Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court on June 22 against the High Court order, but was arrested by the CBI on June 26 in the excise policy case.

Later, on July 11, the Supreme Court granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case pending before the ED.