L-G says Delhi govt can’t be run from jail
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s battle against the Enforcement Directorate’s custody played out in full public glare on Wednesday, with the AAP MLAS storming into the Assembly Well demanding his immediate release. Outside the House, the BJP protested, seeking his resignation and the L-G said, “Delhi won’t be run from jail.”
The High immediate
Kejriwal and
Court denied relief to sought the
ED’S reply on his plea challenging his arrest in a money laundering case related to the nowscrapped excise policy by April 2.
Meanwhile, in a strong message to the ruling AAP in the backdrop of the party’s assertion that Kejriwal will continue as the Chief Minister even if he is behind bars, Delhi Lieutenant-governor V.K. Saxena said that the city government will not be run from jail.
As AAP leaders had on several occasions ruled out Kejriwal’s resignation, Saxena said at a news
channel event, “I can assure the people of Delhi that the government will not be run from jail.”
A public interest litigation
seeking the removal of Kejriwal from the Chief Minister’s post is also scheduled to come up for hearing before a division bench of the Delhi high court on Thursday.
On Wednesday, a Delhi BJP delegation met police commissioner Sanjay Arora to demand a probe into the “letters” being sent by Kejriwal to his ministers from ED custody.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma issued notice in both the applications for interim relief as well as the main writ petition and listed the matter for April 3.
The court said the application as well as the main petition will be taken up on the next date of hearing.
In its 10-page order, the
High Court observed that the plea “raises several issues of legality and validity regarding the arrest and remand of Kejriwal, whether it is politically motivated and malafide”.
Justice Sharma said the court is of the opinion that such important questions and issues cannot be summarily heard and decided by giving the opportunity to only one party to file a petition and documents, especially when a copy of the plea was provided to the ED only on March 26.