New Delhi: After a Delhi court extended chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's Enforcement Directorate custody on Monday, his wife Sunita Kejriwal attacked the BJP-led central government, saying they want to keep the AAP chief in jail because of the Lok Sabha elections. She said the people of the country will answer to “this dictatorship”.
"Why has he been sent to jail? They have only one goal -- to put him in jail during the Lok Sabha elections. The people of the country will answer to this dictatorship," Sunita Kejriwal said after the hearing.
BJP leader and union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, meanwhile, compared Sunita Kejriwal with Rabri Devi, the wife of Lalu Yadav, who became the chief minister of Bihar when her husband was jailed in connection with a corruption case.
"A Rabri Devi is in the making. I have already said 3-4 times in the past 7-10 days that 'Rabri Devi' will come forward. I mean to say that Sunita Kejriwal will come forward now," Puri said.
Hardeep Singh Puri also took a sharp jibe at Arvind Kejriwal, saying he can now hold cabinet meetings as two AAP leaders -- Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh -- are in jail.
"Can any government run from behind the bars?...Here is a government which has three ministers already behind bars. They have a quorum, they can have cabinet meetings behind bars," he said.
Arvind Kejriwal's ED custody was extended till April 15.
BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj said the court believes Kejriwal should remain behind bars.
“We all saw a flop show of corruption during the INDIA bloc’s rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan yesterday. What they did yesterday doesn’t fit the definition of ‘rally’. Rally means a huge public meeting, however, you will see empty chairs in the video. This means the public isn’t with them," she said.
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi said Lalu Prasad Yadav has become Arvind Kejriwal's guru.
"Those who tried to portray the bogie of victimhood, I would like to underline that today's judgement of the court is based on concrete evidence for which neither we nor you or anybody else is privy. So, it is the jurisprudence which has decided to extend this judicial custody for 15 days. Now, it raises certain moral and constitutional questions...Anna Hazare used to be his (Arvind Kejriwal) 'Guru'...The Guru had said that he wouldn't join politics, 'Chela' joined politics and became the CM too. But there was another rally yesterday where he changed his 'Guru'. Now, the 'Guru' is Lalu Prasad Yadav...Lalu Yadav at least resigned from his post when he was going to jail but he (Arvind Kejriwal) hasn't resigned yet," he said.
The court has directed the Tihar Jail authorities to allow Arvind Kejriwal to carry medicines and books. The court also asked authorities to provide one table and chair, a religious locket and a special diet as prescribed by the doctors, as per the jail manual.
Arvind Kejriwal had demanded several books, including Bhagwat Geeta, Ramayan and a book titled "How Prime Minister Decided".
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last month in connection with the liquor policy case. AAP claims he was arrested to prevent him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
Since his arrest, his wife Sunita Kejriwal has been reading out his messages.
BJP has demanded that Kejriwal resign as the Delhi chief minister. However, per AAP, he has passed several orders from inside the jail.
With inputs from PTI, ANI