Two days after his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, Aam Admi Party (AAP) has asserted that Arvind Kejriwal will continue to be the Chief Minister and run the Delhi Government from Jail. Meanwhile, BJP continued its demand for him to step down from the CM’s post.

Referring to Kejriwal as the “kingpin” of the Delhi excise policy, Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed him for his refusal to resign at a media conference at the BJP headquarter. “Even those who were involved in the fodder scam had resigned. However, those involved in the liquor scam have refused to resign,” he said.

BJP national Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told PTI today that AAP was crossing all the boundaries of politics. “Everytime a Chief Minister has been sent to jail, has resigned; whether it’s Lalu Prasad Yadav or Hemant Soren. But Arvind Kejriwal is saying that he will run the government from jail. Gangs run from the jail, not the government,” he said.

Former union minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that it was “shameless” of Kejriwal to not leave the CM post despite being arrested. “Today the whole country is watching that a leader who swears by strict honesty can be so greedy about the position,” he said.

Leaders and workers of BJP Delhi unit today held a demonstration at Rajghat demanding Kejriwal’s resignation.

The Delhi CM was arrested on the night of 21st March 2024 for allegedly taking bribes for liquor licence in 2021-22. On Friday, the Delhi High Court remanded him to ED custody till 28th March 2024. Kejriwal had ignored ED’s summon nine times before his arrest. Former Delhi Minister and AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been jailed since February 2023.

On Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal, in a message from jail, appealed to his supporters not to hate the BJP workers and said that they were brothers. The message was read out by Kejriwal’s wife. He also said that his arrest was not a surprise and that “No prison can keep me inside, will come out and fulfil my promise”.

In another development, the AAP workers have alleged that they are not being allowed access to their Party office. “The central government’s Delhi Police is trying to suppress the election campaign of AAP,” National Spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said. He also claimed that barricades had been put up around the AAP office.