After Arvind Kejriwal's Arrest By ED, BJP Demands Delhi CM's Resignation

ED officials said the 55-year-old AAP national convenor would be produced before a court here on Friday and the ED would seek his custody for interrogation in the case.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials at the residence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, in New Delhi, Thursday, March 21, 2024. ( Image Source :PTI )

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, making it the first time the central agency has apprehended a sitting chief minister. This development comes after the Delhi High Court declined to grant Kejriwal protection from coercive actions by the ED. Kejriwal's arrest is linked to a money laundering case associated with Delhi excise policy.

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BJP Demands Immediate Resignation

Virendra Sachdeva, Delhi BJP President, demanded AAP Convener's resignation from Delhi CM's post. "Today every citizen of Delhi is satisfied that the chief minister, implicated in allegations of corruption, has finally been arrested," Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva told reporters.

"The arrest of Arvind Kejriwal is the defeat of corruption. Kejriwal should resign immediately," he said.

Sachdeva alleged that the Chief Minister's policies had pushed Delhi's youth towards addiction. 

"While Kejriwal staged a drama against drugs in Punjab, he pushed the youth into the abyss of addiction by opening liquor shops and bar rooms in every street in Delhi," he charged.

He rejected the notion that Kejriwal could effectively govern from jail, citing similar situations in other states where arrested leaders were forced to resign.

He said AAP leaders' statements that Kejriwal will run the government from jail "is an insult to constitutional norms".

"(Then Jharkhand Chief Minister) Hemant Soren also said the same thing, but upon being arrested (in a separate case), he had to resign, and the same will happen in Delhi as well," Sachdeva said.

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Response From AAP

The 55-year-old leader's arrest, amid a campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, drew angry reactions from his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party said Kejriwal "will continue as the chief minister of Delhi. If need be, he will run the government from jail." 

ED officials said the 55-year-old AAP national convenor would be produced before a court here on Friday and the ED would seek his custody for interrogation in the case. Kejriwal is also facing an ED case in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).