New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today granted bail to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia, who had been in custody for 17 months, in connection to the Delhi liquor policy case. Reacting to the news, Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, expressed her relief, stating, “Justice can be delayed, not denied.”

भगवान के घर देर है अंधेर नहीं

— Sunita Kejriwal (@KejriwalSunita) August 9, 2024

The legal battle surrounding the Delhi excise policy case has seen multiple high-profile arrests, including that of Arvind Kejriwal. On Thursday, a Delhi court extended Mr Kejriwal’s judicial custody until August 20 in the ongoing corruption case being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Special Judge Kaveri Baweja, who presided over the hearing, extended Mr Kejriwal’s custody after he appeared before the court via video conference.

The court is scheduled to consider a supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI against Mr Kejriwal on August 12. The supplementary charge sheet is expected to further detail the allegations against the AAP chief, who has been named as one of the “main conspirators” in the case. Judge Baweja noted the CBI’s concerns that Mr Kejriwal might attempt to influence witnesses if released, justifying the extension of his custody.

Mr Kejriwal, 55, was initially arrested by the CBI on June 26 while already in judicial custody at Tihar Jail, where he was being held in connection with a money laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). His arrest by the ED had occurred earlier on March 21.

Despite being granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in the ED case on July 12, Mr Kejriwal remains in Tihar Jail as he has yet to furnish the required bail bond. 

Panchkula, Haryana:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal, on Saturday, started campaigning in Haryana by launching “Kejriwal’s guarantees” for the state under the helm of BJP for two consecutive terms.

Accompanied by party MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Sunita Kejriwal launched guarantees of giving free electricity round the clock like Punjab and Delhi, employment to every youth, education to every child, free medical treatment, and Rs 1,000 per month to every woman above 18 years of age.

The upcoming Assembly polls in Haryana will likely be in October.

AAP’s state unit chief Sushil Gupta said that the party is geared up to contest all 90 Assembly seats, fight the elections strongly and form a government.

On Thursday, the AAP had announced that it will contest all the 90 Assembly seats in Haryana, where people want “badlav” (change).

“Aam Aadmi Party has decided to contest the elections in Haryana with full strength,” AAP leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told the media in Chandigarh on Thursday.

AAP National Secretary Sandeep Pathak said that public dialogue for change was conducted by visiting about 6,500 villages and the voice of change “is coming from everywhere.”

“Just like we fought the Kurukshetra Lok Sabha elections with full force, we will fight the Haryana Assembly polls with full force as well,” added Pathak, who had kicked off the party’s campaign for the elections from Karnal on June 25.

The Punjab Chief Minister said that during the AAP leaders’ visits to parts of Rohtak, Sonipat, and Jind in Haryana, people said that they wanted a change in the government.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, AAP contested one seat in Haryana in alliance with the Congress as part of the INDIA bloc.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

A court here on Saturday allowed jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita access to his medical records and also permitted her to independently consult and seek advice from the medical board or doctors on his behalf.

The court, however, rejected Arvind Kejriwal’s application seeking directions to prison authorities allowing Sunita Kejriwal to be his attendant during consultations with doctors.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja said Arvind Kejriwal had not been admitted to a hospital and according to Delhi Prison Rules, permission was granted to a family member as an attendant with an undertrial prisoner by the jail superintendent in consultation with the medical officer in-charge, only when the prisoner is admitted in hospital.

“This court sees no reason to carve out an exception for the applicant (Arvind Kejriwal) by going against the prison rules, more particularly in view of the submission of the jail authorities that several other inmates are also undergoing treatment for the same ailment as the applicant and who have not been permitted to have an attendant,” the court said.

Regarding granting Arvind Kejriwal’s wife access to his medical records, the court said the prison authorities did not have any objection and during the proceedings, the chief minister agreed that his medical records were being “duly shared” by the authorities concerned.

Also, Arvind Kejriwal’s family members have been providing home-cooked food to him in accordance with the diet prescribed by the medical board of the AIIMS, the court said.

“Accordingly, insofar as the prayer of the applicant regarding providing the medical records of his medical meetings/consultations with the doctors to his wife is concerned, the same is allowed and the jail authorities are directed to provide the medical records of the applicant,” it said.

Regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s request to permit his wife to independently consult and seek advice from the medical board or doctors, the court said it was pointed out by Arvind Kejriwal and his advocate that this was necessary to ensure that his prescribed diet was prepared properly.

“It is submitted that the wife of the applicant may also have certain queries regarding the method of preparing the diet as per the recommendation of the medical board, for which she may need to consult the doctors/medical board of AIIMS,” the court said.

“The said submissions appear to be justified and in this regard, it is directed that in case of such a query, the wife of the applicant may independently approach the concerned medical board/doctors, who may have a meeting/consultation with her to discuss the method of preparation of medically prescribed diet of the applicant, if so permitted under the hospital rules,” it added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday tweaked the BJP’s 2014 poll slogan to take a swipe at the Prime Minister, saying “Acche din aane waale hain, Modi ji jaane waale hain” as he exuded confidence that the INDIA bloc will emerge victorious in this Lok Sabha election.

The Aam Aadmi Party chief, who was accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal for the first time in election meetings on Monday, praised her for taking command of the poll campaigning in his absence and described her as “Jhansi Ki Rani”.

“Today I have brought my wife also with me. She took charge of everything in my absence. When I was in jail, she used to come to meet me. I used to inquire about the well-being of my Delhiites through her and send my messages to you. She is like Jhansi ki Rani,” Mr Kejriwal said at a street corner meeting in East Delhi’s Gandhi Nagar constituency.

Sunita Kejriwal also addressed the people and appealed to them to vote for AAP so that her husband is “not sent to jail again”.

“It is because of your blessings that my husband is here with us today. God helps those who do the right thing. Now if you don’t want my husband to go back to jail, vote for AAP on May 25,” she said.

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in a money-laundering case linked to the ‘liquor scam’ in Delhi. The top court has granted interim bail to the AAP leader till June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha election, and asked him to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.

Arvind Kejriwal again repeated his promise of full statehood for Delhi if elected to power.

“I am telling you on June 4, Modi ji’s government will not be formed. Everywhere people are angry with them (BJP) due to inflation and unemployment during their rule,” he claimed.

“People have made up their mind to oust them…On June 4, acche din aane waale hain, Modi ji jaane waale hain (good days are on their way, Modi is on his way out),” he claimed.

In 2014, Narendra Modi stormed to power on the popular slogan of ‘Acche din aane waale hain’ (good days are on their way).

At another poll meeting in Shahdara, Mr Kejriwal attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused him of using foul language for his political opponents including NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar.

“This is not a good thing. He (Sharad Pawar) is an 84-year-old person. Modi ji is 74 years old. One should respect elders,” he said.

Mr Kejriwal also addressed roadshows in Kondli, Trilokpuri and Jangpura assembly segments of the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency in support of AAP candidate Kuldeep Kumar.

Mr Kejriwal appealed to the Congress supporters to vote for AAP in the constituencies where its candidates were in the fray while asking his party supporters to do the same for Congress candidates.

Polling for all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi is on May 25. The result will be declared for all on June 4.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal will not be able to meet him in Tihar jail on Monday. The jail authorities have refused permission for the scheduled visit, Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party has claimed.

Sources said that the Tihar Jail administration has cited the visit of Delhi Minister Atishi, who will meet the Chief Minister on Monday.
On Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is coming to meet him.

Sources said jail rules say two people can come to meet a jailed person at a time.

When Mr Mann went to meet Mr Kejriwal in Tihar Jail on April 15, AAP’s Organisation General Secretary Sandeep Pathak accompanied him.

Sources in Tihar Jail said after the meeting with Atishi and Bhagwant Mann, Sunita Kejriwal could be allowed to meet Mr Kejriwal After  Tuesday. 

Jail rules, however, say only two visits can be allowed in a week. So if Atishi meets Arvind Kejriwal on Monday and Bhagwant Mann meets him on Tuesday, then no other meeting with Arvind Kejriwal can be held in this week.

It is possible that Sunita Kejriwal will only be allowed to meet him next week. 

Mr Kejriwal has been in jail since April 1. He was arrested on March 21 in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.

His stay in Tihar has been marked by a massive row over his diabetes and medication, with the Chief Minister and his party alleging that the authorities had withheld medication since his arrest. The Enforcement Directorate has alleged that Mr Kejriwal has been eating food that is inappropriate for diabetics.

On Saturday, Sunita Kejriwal led her maiden roadshow in Delhi, campaigning for the Lok Sabha election. The massive roadshow was held in support of the AAP’s East Delhi candidate. The party is contesting four of Delhi’s seven constituencies. The Congress will contest the other three.

In Mr Kejriwal’s absence, she is expected to spearhead the party’s campaign in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat.

New Delhi:

Blue and yellow flags and banners of the Aam Aadmi Party painted Delhi’s Kalyanpuri area on Saturday as hundreds of women donning caps and scarfs with the party’s logo attended Sunita Kejriwal’s maiden roadshow amid “Jail ke tale tutengey, Kejriwal chhutengey” slogans.

Standing through the sunroof of a vehicle, Sunita Kejriwal, whose husband and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest pushed her to the forefront of the AAP’s Lok Sabha poll campaign, greeted locals in the Kondli area of East Delhi constituency with folded hands. She was campaigning for AAP’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar.

As the carcade snaked through the narrow lanes with a sea of AAP supporters carrying the Delhi chief minister’s cut-outs, she shook hands with several women and targeted the ruling BJP at the Centre, saying her husband was jailed because he built schools, provided free electricity and opened Mohalla Clinics in the national capital.

Arvind Kejriwal, AAP’s national convenor, is behind bars in a money laundering case, linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, currently being investigated by federal agencies.

Flanked by leaders of the Congress, the AAP’s partner in the opposition INDIA bloc and ally for the Lok Sabha polls in Delhi, Sunita Kejriwal asserted that their alliance will sweep all seats in the national capital as loudspeakers blared patriotic songs.

Folk artists from Uttarakhand were seen performing in the roadshow and raising slogans of ‘Jail ka jawab vote se‘ amid beats of Nashik dhols.

As the roadshow passed through the area, locals lined up the streets to greet the chief minister’s wife. Vimla Devi, one of the residents of the area, claimed the arrest of the chief minister just before the elections was not right.

“We feel that the INDIA alliance will sweep the Lok Sabha polls since the chief minister is seeking votes on (the plank of) development. He has given citizens of the national capital a lot of facilities. People will surely vote in his favour,” she added.

A resident of the Khichadipur area, Sonu Kumar claimed that voting for the ongoing election seems to have been “fixed”.

“The chief minister of Delhi was focusing on development and also asking people to vote for him to further the development of the national capital. The arrest of the sitting CM just before the elections seems to be a political move,” he said.

Rajkumar, a resident, said although he supported the arrest of Kejriwal, the timing could have been better. “It should have happened earlier if he has done something wrong,” he added.

His brother Rajesh Kumar claimed that the step would surely affect the BJP in the elections.

Kishan Lal, who is a first-time voter, said he wanted AAP to win in Delhi even though he was against the opposition alliance. “I am not in favour of this alliance, but want AAP to win all seven seats (in Delhi) in this election,” he added.

Another local, Shriprakash Prasad, who runs a shop in the locality, said that the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal would surely affect the elections as it seems like people will vote in his favour.

“Everyone is happy with Kejriwal and since his wife is campaigning for him, he will also get a good amount of sympathy votes,” Mr Prasad said.

Anwari, who shook hands with Sunita Kejriwal, said, “I am very happy that the wife of the chief minister greeted me and also shook hands with me. The crowd at the roadshow was large and this shows that people will also go in large numbers to support them on May 25.” Voting in all seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi will be held in the sixth phase of the general election on May 25.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita – who entered the political battleground with fiery speeches at INDIA bloc’s rallies last month – will now lead the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s campaign for the Lok Sabha elections in Delhi and other states.

Sunita Kejriwal will hold a mega roadshow in the national capital today in support of AAP’s East Delhi candidate Kuldeep Kumar. “In protest against the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, his wife Sunita Kejriwal will campaign to seek blessings for him and to seek votes for AAP candidates. She will seek blessings for him from the people of Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat and Haryana,” Delhi Minister Atishi said.

Ms Kejriwal is gradually assuming a bigger role in the party to give a boost to the AAP’s campaigning, which has been affected by the Chief Minister’s arrest in March, party sources said.

AAP Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that Ms Kejriwal is the best person to keep the party together in the prevailing circumstances and asserted that her presence has had a “positive effect” on the party workers.

Ms Kejriwal last month took part in the INDIA bloc’s mega rallies in Delhi and Ranchi, which saw the opposition camp launch a fierce attack on the BJP for allegedly misusing central agencies to harass opposition-ruled states.

She has so far held three digital media briefings mainly focused on communicating Arvind Kejriwal’s messages to the people. 

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam. He remains the Chief Minister even after his arrest with the AAP asserting no law stops him from running the government from jail.

Sunita Kejriwal is a former Indian Revenue Services (IRS) officer who served in the income tax department for 22 years. She met Arvind Kejriwal during a training programme in Bhopal. She is from the 1994 batch, while Arvind Kejriwal is a 1995-batch officer.

She took voluntary retirement in 2016. Her last posting was at the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Delhi where she served as the income tax commissioner.

The arrest of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and JMM’s Hemant Soren has put their wives in the limelight. Sunita Kejriwal and Kalpana Soren have become important faces in the INDIA camp in the absence of their spouses during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, hinting that they are ready for larger political roles.

They joined other INDIA bloc leaders at a rally in Ranchi yesterday, which saw the opposition camp launch a fierce attack on the BJP for allegedly misusing central agencies to harass opposition-ruled states.

Two chairs were left empty on stage for Mr Kejriwal and Mr Soren – with their name tags on – as their spouses were seated on the dais.

The ‘Ulgulan Nyay Mahrally’, organised by the JMM amid the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, served as a major show of strength that saw the leaders of 28 political parties in attendance, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Tejashwi Yadav, Bhagwant Mann, and Akhilesh Yadav.

Sunita Kejriwal, lashing out at the government in her speech, alleged that her diabetic husband was being denied insulin in jail, a claim earlier made by the Aam Aadmi Party.

“They want to kill my husband Arvind Kejriwal. His food is under camera observation; he is denied insulin. My husband is a sugar patient who has been on insulin for the last 12 years; he needs 50 units of insulin daily,” she said at the rally.

Claiming that no charges could be proved against her husband, she asserted that they will win their “fight against dictatorship”. “The gates of jail will break and Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren will come out,” asserted Ms Kejriwal.

Ms Soren also accused the BJP of trying to topple governments in states where opposition parties are in power, which she claimed led to the arrest of Mr Kejriwal and Mr Soren just before the elections.

At the rally, she also read out a message from her husband: “Central agencies such as the ED and CBI are being misused to suppress the opposition’s voice but BJP and such forces will be driven out.”

Mr Kejriwal was arrested last month by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy scam. He remains the Chief Minister even after his arrest with the AAP asserting no law stops him from running the government from jail.

Mr Soren had resigned from the top post before his arrest in January by the ED in a laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud. JMM leader Champai Soren replaced him as the Chief Minister in February amid speculations that Ms Soren could take over her husband’s post.

Ranchi:

Two empty chairs – one each for jailed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren – were kept on stage as the INDIA bloc organised a mega rally in Ranchi on Sunday.

The ‘Ulgulan Nyay Mahrally’ was organised mainly by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and a large number of its workers wore Mr Soren’s masks.

Mr Soren was arrested on January 31 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land fraud. The same central agency also arrested Mr Kejriwal on March 21 associated with the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

Though chairs for the JMM executive president and AAP supremo were kept empty, their wives Kalpana Soren and Sunita Kejriwal were seated on the dais. They are apparently set for their larger political role following the arrest of their spouses.

INDIA परिवार ने अपने वरिष्ठ नेताओं के प्रति दिखाया सम्मान

Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal जी व Jharkhand के पूर्व CM @HemantSorenJMM जी के लिए मंच पर आरक्षित रखी कुर्सियां।#UlgulanNyayMahaRallypic.twitter.com/DCYGyDZaJ6

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 21, 2024

The crowd raised slogans like “Jail ka tala tutega, Hemant Soren chutega” (The jail lock will be broken, Hemant Soren will be released) and “Jharkhand Jhukega Nahi” (Jharkhand will not bow down).”

The workers assembled for the ‘Ulgulan Nyay Mahrally’ braving scorching heat as the Jharkhand capital’s temperature was hovering around 40 degrees Celcius.

Besides Kalpana and Sunita, JMM supremo Shibu Soren, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, RJD leader and former Bihar deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and others attended the rally in a mega show of strength for the opposition bloc.

A total of 28 political parties took part in the rally, which was held at the Prabhat Tara Ground.

The word ‘Ulugulan’, which means revolution, was coined during Birsa Munda’s fight against the British for the rights of the tribals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s wife Sunita is the best person to keep the party together in the prevailing circumstances and asserted that her presence has had a “positive effect” on the cadre.

In an interaction with news agency PTI editors at the agency’s headquarters, Mr Bharadwaj, who is also a cabinet minister in the Delhi government, said Sunita Kejriwal has always said that she is the “messenger” of the Delhi Chief Minister who is currently in jail.

Noting that the politics of a party does not just revolve around its manifesto, Mr Bharadwaj said the support base and the emotional connection between the cadre and the top leadership also plays a crucial role in keeping an organisation together.

“Sunita Kejriwal’s presence has had a positive impact,” he adderted.

“She is delivering the messages of Arvind Kejriwal ji. This has had a great impact on our party cadre and among our sympathisers. We want to propagate it. In the present circumstances, she is the best person to keep the party together,” Mr Bharadwaj said.

Arvind Kejriwal, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money-laundering case linked to the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy, is in judicial custody till April 15.

His wife has addressed three digital briefings so far, in which she read out his messages from the Enforcement Directorate custody and Tihar Jail.

In a political debut of sorts, she read out his message at the INDIA bloc ‘maharally’ on March 31.

Asked if Sunita Kejriwal will campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha polls, he said, “We would love if this thing happens… if Sunita ji does take part in campaigning but it is her personal decision.”

On further prodding whether there was some kind of “messaging” in Sunita Kejriwal taking centre stage after her husband’s arrest, the minister replied in the negative.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who too was arrested in the excise policy case and received bail on Wednesday, had met Sunita Kejriwal immediately after getting out of jail and was seen touching her feet.

Talking about it, the minister said if someone’s elder brother is in some difficulty, he is duty-bound to look after his family.

“This is our culture. The BJP was saying that there would be fights among the party members after Kejriwal’s arrest. Sanjay Singh considers Arvind Kejriwal his family, his elder brother. So, he touched her (Sunita Kejriwal) feet. We are working as one unit and one family,” he said.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)