Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi accepted there was no evidence against him in the alleged liquor policy scam.
“Why was I arrested, if PM is saying there is no evidence against me?” said Arvind Kejriwal in Jalandhar, reported news agency PTI.
Kejriwal has been asserting that PM Modi‘s remarks in a recent interview indicate that the Delhi excise policy scam case was unfounded, as no recovery of the alleged money involved had been made.
“The PM was asked in an interview that Kejriwal was saying that no evidence has been found in the case. The PM said no money was found because Kejriwal is an experienced thief. He accepted that no recovery was made,” Kejriwal had said.
“To hide it, he said Kejriwal is an ‘anubhavi chor’. This is just an excuse to prove the wrong arrests right. When you have accepted that excise scam is wrong, please release those who have been arrested,” he added.
Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in connection with a money laundering case related to the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. Subsequently, he was incarcerated in Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
The Delhi Chief Minister is currently on interim bail, granted by the Supreme Court, which permits him to campaign for the Aam Aadmi Party in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The Supreme Court has directed Kejriwal to surrender on June 2.
In anticipation of his surrender, Kejriwal recently filed a plea requesting a seven-day extension of his interim bail on medical grounds in the Delhi excise policy case. However, the Supreme Court’s Registry declined an urgent hearing request on the matter on Wednesday.
The AAP national convenor had sought an extension of one week time, stating that he needed to undergo diagnostic tests, including a PET-CT Scan. In his application, Kejriwla said recent medical tests revealed elevated blood glucose and ketone levels, which may cause potential kidney-related complications and damage.