Delhi HC Issues Notice On Arvind Kejriwal's Plea Challenging Arrest, ED Remand; Next Hearing On April 3 | Highlights

Delhi High Court on Wednesday deferred hearing on plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging arrest by the Enforcement Directorate and has issued a notice to the probe body. The next hearing has been scheduled to be held on April 

The Delhi government will not be run from jail, Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena said on Wednesday in the backdrop of statements by AAP leaders that Arvind Kejriwal will continue as chief minister even if he is behind bars.

"One party (BJP) is trying to hijack democracy. We should stand together against this. We should fight together to defeat the BJP. INDIA alliance should get 20 seats in Kerala. BJP cannot repeat its victory from the last election, they know it. Congress will win in Karnataka, Telangana and in the Hindi belt as well," says Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's health is reportedly depleting in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal is diabetic and his blood sugar level is fluctuating, reports news agency PTI quoting sources in Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari attened campaign and suggestion collection program.  "...As a BJP MP for the last 10 years, we have done a lot for this area. And now, we have to plan for the next 5 years...  We are collecting suggestions from people on what work should be done in the next 5 years..." he said as quoted by news agency ANI.

The places being raided by the agency included the residence of Firozpur Deputy Commissioner Rajesh Dhiman. The raids are being carried out under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The Biju Janta Dal (BJD) on Wednesday released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Assembly polls in Odisha. CM Naveen Patnaik will contest from the Hinjili assembly constituency.

Lok Sabha elections | Samajwadi Party declares Imam Mohibullah Nadvi as its candidate from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh.

After Shiv Sena (UBT) announced its first list of candidates in Maharashtra for the ensuing Lok Sabha elections, Congress' senior state leader and member of the MVA negotiating committee Balasaheb Thorat said that the Sena should not have announced the candidates for Mumbai South Central, Bhiwandi and Sangli as those seats were still under discussion.

"Sena should not have announced the candidates for Mumbai South Central and Sangli. These were still under discussion," Thorat said speaking to ANI on Friday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on March 31 kickstart Lok Sabha poll campaign with a public meeting in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut. RLD chief Jayant Singh is also expected to join him.   

After Shiv Sena (UBT) declared candidates for 5 Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai, Maharashtra Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said the move was going to affect the grand old party and the top brass should think over this. "Shiv Sena should not take an extreme stand. This will cause a huge loss to Congress. I want to attract the attention of Congress leadership to intervene, if not then break the alliance to save the party. The decision of an alliance with Shiv Sena will prove self-destructive for Congress," Nirupam said. 

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Tuesday declared the candidature of Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil from Shirur Lok Sabha constituency after the Shiv Sena leader joined the Nationalist Congress Party, PTI reported.

Prakash Ambedkar-led Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi on Wednesday severed ties with MVA in Maharashtra after contention over seat sharing. Besides, the party announced candidates for eight Lok Sabha seats.  

During the protests outside the Delhi Assembly against the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, AAP Minister Atishi says, "All the AAP MLAs are protesting today against the illegal arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. Democracy is being destroyed in this country. All the opposition leaders are being jailed and their bank accounts and party offices are being sealed. A sitting CM has been arrested, that too after the announcement of the national elections... His arrest is an attack on the democracy..."

State Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel says, "If the government creates a situation, then they would be questioned. There are disturbances related to health and water. We had to discuss those issues, so the session was called..."

The AAP leaders on Wednesday held a fervid protest outside the Delhi Assembly against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest. Delhi Ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi were involved in the protest.  

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said the Congress was going to register a victory in all five Lok Sabha seats of Uttrakhand.  Rawat’s son Virender is in the electoral fray from the Haridwar seat. 

Advocate Vaibhav Singh has written to the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court against the call for protest in Delhi Courts by the legal cell of the Aam Aadmi Party over the ED arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal. "A protest cannot be called in the court. It violates the right to fair litigation of the public who is coming to the court to seek justice. Every lawyer and political party should refrain from making the court a battlefield. You cannot come to the court to fulfil political agenda," he said. 

YSRCP supremo and Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will today embark on a 21-day bus tour named 'Memanta Siddham' in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, PTI reported.

The bus tour will be Jagan's first election campaign post the announcement of the legislative assembly and Lok Sabha polls by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on March 16. 

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday summoned Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Amol Kirtikar in the Khichdi Scam, ANI reported. He has been asked to appear for questioning before the federal probe agency today.   

BJP chief JP Nadda on Wednesday sought clarification from Dilip Ghosh after the latter made an objectionable comment against Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Ghosh said he would write a letter in reply. "This is not the first time that I have faced a controversy over my statement, because I speak in front of those who commit injustice. Many people including the party said that I used unparliamentary language, if it is so then I express my sadness at it...I will give an official reply to the notice," he said. 

Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita Kejriwal, will today release a press statement, ANI reported. This came after the Delhi HC agreed to hear Kejriwal’s plea against his arrest today. Notably, Sunita read Kejriwal’s first message which he allegedly wrote from jail for his supporters.   

Shiv Sena (UBT) released its first list of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls on Wednesday.  

After a 21-day-long climate fast, noted Ladakh-based environmentalist and educator Sonam Wangchuk ended his hunger strike on Tuesday in evening. Sonam, along with thousands of protesters, was sitting on a fast, surviving over only water and salt, while demanding statehood for the Ladakh and protection of the fragile Himalayan ecology.

#WATCH | Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer turned educational reformist called off his hunger strike today in Leh, Ladakh.

The hunger strike was for the statehood of Ladakh and the protection of the fragile Himalayan ecology. pic.twitter.com/TDjt2LUrIn

— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2024

BJP on Tuesday wrote to the Election Commission of India over "violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct and offence committed by DMK and its leader Anitha R Radhakrishnan"

BJP has requested the Election Commission to direct Anitha R Radhakrishnan to tender an apology to Prime Minister Narendra Modi without conditions and to stop him from campaigning further in this election. Additionally, the BJP has called upon the EC to promptly initiate the filing of an FIR and conduct a criminal investigation against him.

BJP on Tuesday wrote to the Election Commission of India over "violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct and offence committed by DMK and its leader Anitha R Radhakrishnan"
BJP has requested the Election Commission to direct Anitha R Radhakrishnan to tender an apology to Prime Minister Narendra Modi without conditions and to stop him from campaigning further in this election. Additionally, the BJP has called upon the EC to promptly initiate the filing of an FIR and conduct a criminal investigation against him.

BJP writes to Election Commission of India over "violation of the Election Model Code of Conduct and offence committed by DMK and its leader Anitha R Radhakrishnan"

BJP requests the EC to direct Anitha R Radhakrishnan to tender an unconditional apology to Prime Minister Narendra… pic.twitter.com/Ky0rkrP1U0

— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2024

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is dialling BJP candidates on various seats. Today, he called BJP candidates from Kerala's Alathur and Basirhat to ask about their poll preparation.

Prime Minister Modi first dialled Rekha Patra, a BJP candidate from Basirhat and one of the Sandeshkhali victims, and spoke to her about the poll preparations and support of the BJP among people.

Later, he called Prof TN Sarasu, a BJP candidate from Alathur in Kerala. PM asked her how her campaign was going.

Congress Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu on Tuesday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). As the Lok Sabha polls are less than a month away, several prominent leaders of the grand old party have recently switched parties and joined the saffron regiment.

#WATCH | Delhi | Congress Lok Sabha MP Ravneet Singh Bittu joins the BJP. pic.twitter.com/RcLPyPJ4i0

— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2024

The United States government is closely following developments surrounding the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal, urging Indian authorities to guarantee "a fair, transparent, and expedient legal process" for the detained Delhi Chief Minister and opposition figure, as stated by a spokesperson from the State Department to Reuters recently.

This stance from the US emerged shortly after Germany's Foreign Office said that the Aam Aadmi Party leader, like any other Indian citizen, deserves a just and unbiased trial.

CPI's D Raja responded to BRS leader K Kavitha's statement on the 'Delhi excise policy case' calling it political laundering. Raja said: "Everyone knows that the central agencies are being used to target the opposition leaders and intimidate them. It is becoming more and more of a political vendetta against opposition parties."

On Tuesday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced that six ex-Congress MLAs, who were previously ousted from the legislative assembly, will run as BJP candidates in the upcoming by-elections in Himachal Pradesh. The BJP also announced its contenders for Assembly by-polls in Gujarat, Sikkim, West Bengal, and Karnataka on the same day. The party has chosen the six ex-Congress MLAs to compete from the seats they represented before being disqualified.

A court of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will hear the Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's plea challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and subsequent remand on Wednesday at 10:30 am.

On the issue of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal running his government from jail, JKNC vice president Omar Abdullah said that the Delhi government is under ED custody.

"Government is indeed under ED custody. He is a sitting Chief Minister, he hasn't resigned. Before this, when the Jharkhand CM was arrested by the ED, he had resigned before his arrest. But Arvind Kejriwal hasn't resigned. He is the sitting Chief Minister and he is issuing orders from there. For democracy and this country, such detention of a sitting CM is not good. But this is happening, we have to face this," he said.

#WATCH | On Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, JKNC vice president Omar Abdullah says, "Government is indeed under ED custody. He is a sitting Chief Minister, he hasn't resigned. Before this, when the Jharkhand CM was arrested by the ED, he had resigned before his arrest. But Arvind… pic.twitter.com/WrDk75rWaP

— ANI (@ANI) March 26, 2024

Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva was detained on Tuesday by Delhi police during the party's protest demanding resignation of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Police also resorted to using water canons on protesting BJP workers and leaders. 

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate in connection to the alleged excise policy case.

In a protest march towards the Secretariat, BJP workers demanding the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, currently in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in connection with the Liquor Excise Policy case, faced resistance from law enforcement personnel.

Police resorted to the use of water cannons to disperse the BJP protestors, who were advocating for Kejriwal's resignation amid his legal entanglement. 

The Delhi government has issued an appeal to the public, advising vigilance against potential misinformation amid the recent arrest and remand of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21, 2024.

In a statement, the government cautioned citizens to refrain from succumbing to the tactics of "rumour mongers" who may seek to exploit the circumstances surrounding Kejriwal's legal predicament for their own gain.

Delhi Minister & AAP leader Gopal Rai on Tuesday said that people of Delhi will continue to fight for CM. He raised questions on hoe Kejriwal got arrested.

"The people of Delhi are not able to understand how Arvind Kejriwal was sent to jail and Sharad Reddy was granted bail when both were booked under the same charges...The people of Delhi will continue to fight for Arvind Kejriwal," he said.

BJP workers protest at ITO in Delhi as they seek the resignation of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

BRS leader K Kavitha was brought to Rouse Avenue court on Tuesday at the end of her ED custody in the Delhi excise policy money laundering case. Upon being produced, the probe agency said "we recorded her statement, interrogated her and confronted her with several individuals and digital records."

BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of orchestrating a diversionary spectacle from his Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody. Sirsa contended that Kejriwal's purported orders from jail were merely a ploy to distract attention from the alleged alcohol scam plaguing the administration.

"I have given a written complaint to the LG and ED director that action should be taken on the false letter that they had produced... The way gangsters and extortionists operate gangs from jail, they want to operate the CM office... A corrupt like Arvind Kejriwal cannot be the CM. He has to resign," he said.

Aam Aadmi Party started protesting near Patel Chowk Metro station. Punjab Minister and AAP leader Harjot Singh Bains was detained by Delhi Police from outside of the Patel Nagar Metro station.

Delhi Police made announcements outside the Patel Chowk Metro station, asserting the imposition of Section 144 and referring to the absence of protest permissions. Protestors were instructed to vacate the area within a five-minute timeframe.

Heavy police deployment is in the area in anticipation of AAP's planned protest to 'gherao' the Prime Minister's residence. The demonstration is in response to the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a liquor policy case.

Aam Aadmi Party Health Minister on Tuesday informed that Delhi CM has instructed him to resolve public issues in the tests carried out at Mohalla clinics.

"He is worried that because he is jailed, the people of Delhi should not suffer because of it. The CM has received information that people are facing difficulties in the tests carried out at the Mohalla clinics. He has directed me to take steps to resolve this... I want to ensure the people of Delhi that even of your CM is in jail, he is only thinking about you," Saurabh Bhardwaj said.

In light of the Aam Aadmi Party's protest and security reasons, the Delhi Metro has closed some gates of  Lok Kalyan Marg Metro station, Central Secretariat and Patel Chowk Metro stations. "Due to security reasons, entry/exit at Lok Kalyan Marg Metro station, Gate no 3 of Patel Chowk Metro Station and Gate no 5 of Central Secretariat Metro station will remain closed till further notice," DMRC said.

In view of Aam Aadmi Party's protest against Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal's arrest and call for 'gherao' PM Modi's residence, Delhi police have heightened security measures. "Considering everything we have deployed security at PM residence and other important points. There is no restriction on boarding/deboarding at all Delhi metro stations. 50 patrolling vehicles are present in New Delhi area today," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Devesh Kumar Mahla.