 "Kejriwal, Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi CM")
The BJP on Friday welcomed a Delhi court's decision to send Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the ED's custody in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case, saying the "kingpin of the crime" has finally been brought to justice.
Addressing a press conference here, Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani said after the court's order, the country is convinced that nobody is above the law.
"The news about the court sending him to (the ED's) remand has at least convinced the country that nobody is above the law. The kingpin of the crime, Arvind Kejriwal, has finally been brought to justice," she said.
"Kejriwal came with a promise of change and transparency. What he sought to do was use the state instrument to defraud the public exchequer.
"Today, he stands before the law to be adjudged and prosecuted, and then made to pay for his crimes.... This is the true face of the kingpin of the crime, Arvind Kejriwal," Irani alleged.
Kejriwal (55) was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the anti-money laundering law from his official residence in the Civil Lines area of Delhi on Thursday.
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Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court on Friday sent the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor to the agency's custody till March 28.
The court passed the order on the ED's plea seeking a 10-day custody of Kejriwal.
Referring to media reports on the hearing of Kejriwal's case, Irani said the investigating agency "unequivocally" told the court that liquor companies were instrumental behind the framing and implementation of the Delhi excise policy.
"What is shocking is that this is not only an abject pronouncement of the evidence found but also finding an illustration of financial transactions of various kinds," she said.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi extending his support to Kejriwal's family, Irani said that does not come as a surprise as Congress leaders are known for speaking in "forked tongues, especially the Gandhi family".
"In July last year, Rahul Gandhi made a mention of the Delhi liquor scam at a rally in Telangana. So which Rahul Gandhi is correct, the one who is calling up Kejriwal's family or the one who spoke in Telangana?" she asked.
"And which Congress party is correct, one that wrote a letter to the Delhi police commissioner in June 2022 (seeking a probe into the alleged excise policy scam) or the one that is trying to defend him (Kejriwal) today? Which Congress is correct, the one in the form of (Ajay) Makenji, who accused Kejriwal of taking black money to defeat the Congress in the Goa Assembly polls?" she asked.
Replying to questions, Irani also slammed INDIA bloc parties for approaching the Election Commission after Kejriwal's arrest and alleged that corruption was the "glue" that brought them together.
"What is also interesting is that an officer of the court, who had just appeared before the court, goes to the EC to bring the court under pressure," she said, without naming Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who appeared in the court as Kejriwal's counsel.
"It is for the legal luminaries to opine on why an officer of the court, after appearing on behalf of a client before the court, goes to the EC to suppress the majesty of the court... This (INDIA) is an alliance of thieves. He proved it today. His effort is condemnable," Irani said.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
