The BJP on Tuesday seized the Delhi High Court’s rejection of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest by the ED and its critical observations to attack the AAP convener, claiming the movement which began with the Indian Against Corruption stir has now turned into “Kejri Corruption Kranti”.
The BJP also pushed for the chief minister’s resignation, with its Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva asking if he is now left with any moral right to continue while he remains under arrest.
BJP’s national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi cited several observations of the high court to slam the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its chief, accusing them of trying to politicise investigation and judicial processes.
In a setback to Kejriwal, the high court on Tuesday dismissed his petition challenging his arrest in a money laundering case stemming from the alleged excise scam, saying there was no contravention of legal provisions.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said the Enforcement Directorate was in possession of “enough material” which led to Kejriwal’s arrest, and the trial court remanded him in the custody of the agency by a well-reasoned order.
“The court is of the view that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal was not in contravention of legal provisions. The remand can’t be held to be illegal,” said Justice Sharma while delivering the verdict.
Trivedi also cited the court’s stand that the law applied equally to all and courts were concerned with constitutional morality and not political morality, apparently referring to the claim by Kejriwal and AAP that he was arrested to jeopardise his party’s Lok Sabha poll campaign.
The court’s decision has smashed the arrogance of the Aam Aadmi Party, the BJP spokesperson said, noting that the judge also observed that the material brought by the Enforcement Directorate has shown that Kejriwal “conspired” in the framing of the excise policy and was “involved” in the proceeds of the crime.
The ED can’t be directed to carry out the investigation as per the convenience of the person, and there can’t be one law for the common man and another for a chief minister, he said, referring to the court’s decision. It has further “exposed” Kejriwal’s garb of a common man as he has already gone back on many assertions he had made when he entered politics, the BJP leader said.
The agitation which began with the India Against Corruption movement, he said in a reference to the anti-graft campaign spearheaded by social activist Anna Hazare in which Kejriwal played a critical role, has now turned into “Kejri Corruption Kranti”.
Then an activist, Kejriwal rode the popular traction that the movement gathered to enter politics and swept to power in the national capital later, projecting himself as an outsider and a common man who kept away from the trappings of power.
Trivedi said, “Indian politics has probably never seen such a fall in a decade.” He also took a swipe at INDIA bloc parties for rallying around the incarcerated leader and for accusing the Modi government of weaponising probe agencies to weaken the opposition. Sachdeva said Kejriwal has “shamed, betrayed and looted” Delhi.
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