Probe agency opposes bail for Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: With the Supreme Court set to decide on interim bail for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday to allow him to campaign for the ongoing Lok Sabha elections, the Enforcement Directorate has filed an affidavit opposing his petition and said that laws are equal for all and that campaigning is not a fundamental, constitutional or even a legal right.
The probe agency, which arrested the AAP chief in the liquor policy case on March 21, has also pointed out that no political leader has ever been granted bail for campaigning and said that letting Kejriwal out of jail to canvas for his party candidates will set a wrong precedent.
Hearing the petition on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had said Mr Kejriwal is the elected chief minister of Delhi and he is not a habitual offender.
“There are elections... these are extraordinary circumstances and he is not a habitual offender,” the bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta had said.
In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) pointed out that, while hearing the bail plea of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia - a co-accused in the case - the court had said that the laws apply equally to all citizens and institutions, including the state.
Stating that Kejriwal had sought interim bail primarily for campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections, the agency submitted, “It is relevant to note that the right to campaign is neither a fundamental right nor a constitutional right and not even a legal right.”
Meanwhile, in a setback to the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), its Lok Sabha candidate from Chandigarh, Hardeep Singh Buterla, along with supporters joined AAP on Thursday after leaving the Akali Dal.
Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab, President and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann formally inducted Buterla and all his associates into the party.
Buterla has been a local municipal councilor from Chandigarh thrice. He has also been the senior deputy mayor of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation.
Due to his strong hold among people, the Akali Dal had declared him as its candidate for the Lok Sabha elections this time.
After joining AAP, Buterla thanked the Chief Minister for making him a part of the AAP family.
He said the works of the Mann government in the past two years and public welfare policies inspired him to join AAP.