India’s opposition leader returns to jail
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, returned to the high-security Tihar Jail on Sunday, a day after the country’s weeks-long parliamentary election marathon ended. On May 10, the Supreme Court had granted Kejriwal bail to take part in election campaigning for his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Moments before surrendering at the jail, Kejriwal paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat memorial in Delhi, where the freedom fighter was cremated.
Speaking to his supporters, Kejriwal described the past 21 days as “unforgettable” and claimed he had campaigned to “save the country.” Since the day after he was released, the 55-year-old was engaged in a flurry of campaign-related activities.
Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, a federal government agency, on March 21 over corruption allegations after repeated court summons failed. He has insisted that he is innocent and claimed he is the victim of a political witch-hunt orchestrated by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Although the politician was eventually released on bail and permitted to campaign in the election, a slew of restrictions was imposed on him by the court. He was not allowed to visit the chief minister’s office or the Delhi Secretariat, and could not sign any official documents without clearance from the lieutenant governor of Delhi.
Despite being imprisoned, Kejriwal has continued serving as the chief minister of the capital, which enjoys a special status under the constitution and has its own elected legislative assembly and government. “I will take care of you all in jail,” he promised, in a message to his supporters before returning to prison.
Kejriwal, who has not been convicted, is now being sent to judicial custody until June 5. “No leader of the AAP is afraid of going to jail,” Atishi, the Delhi education minister and a key aide of the imprisoned leader, told news agency ANI after his surrender to authorities. “[Kejriwal] came out and campaigned for the elections and contributed to the democratic process,” she added.
Meanwhile, TV channels’ exit polls over the weekend predicted that the BJP is likely to secure all seven Lok Sabha seats in the capital city, while the alliance of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Congress party, India’s oldest and largest party, now in opposition, has a competitive chance in one or two constituencies. In Punjab, another state where AAP has ruled so far, the party could also face a setback, according to some polls.
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