Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday (March 28) termed his arrest as a "political conspiracy" and asserted that the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply to the BJP over the matter. His remarks came while he was being brought to the Rouse Avene Court in the national capital after the end of his ED remand in the excise policy case.
"My arrest is a political conspiracy. People will give befitting reply," he said while being taken to the court.
The court had sent his to six-day remand earlier after his arrest on March 21. The Chief Minister was produced before the court where the ED is seeking another seven days remand.
It should be mentioned here that the ED had arrested Kejriwal on March 21 hours after the high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the anti-money laundering probe agency. The case pertains to the alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 which was later scrapped.
The case originated from a report presented by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to Lieutenant Governor (LG) Vinai Kumar Saxena in July 2022, highlighting purported procedural deficiencies in the development of the policy. The report said "arbitrary and unilateral decisions" taken by AAP leader Manish Sisodia in his capacity as Excise Minister had resulted in "financial losses to the exchequer" estimated at more than Rs 580 crore.
