'Arvind Kejriwal will work from jail if arrested': AAP
New Delhi/IBNS: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has said that it will seek the court's permission to have Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal continue work from jail in case he is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the Delhi liquor policy scam case.
At a meeting on Monday, the party MLAs told Kejriwal that even if the central agency arrests him, he should run the government from jail.
"We are going among the people. The people are saying that atrocities are being committed against the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal. That is why, all the MLAs requested the Chief Minister today that even if he goes to jail, he should remain the CM. The people of Delhi have elected him as CM and he should remain the CM," AAP minister Aatishi told the media.
"We will go to court and seek permission to hold the cabinet meeting in the jail itself," she said.
The ED summoned Kejriwal for questioning in the alleged money laundering angle in the liquor scam, on November 2.
However, Kejriwal skipped the questioning and predicted that he would be arrested soon.
He has earlier been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Kejriwal's former Deputy Manish Sisodia had stepped down from the cabinet post after his arrest in February. He is still in jail.
Last week, the Supreme Court turned down his bail petition, saying tentative evidence had been established by the investigating agencies.
In a 41-page order, the apex court accepted the argument of the CBI that there is a "carefully hatched conspiracy" to ensure that a select few make gains. The policy "facilitated getting bribes" from wholesale distributors who are "assured of exorbitant profits".
The agency contends that liquor companies were involved in framing the scrapped 2021 excise policy, which would have brought them a 12 percent profit.
A liquor lobby it dubbed the "South Group" had paid kickbacks, part of which was routed to public servants, it said. The Enforcement Directorate alleged the laundering of the kickbacks.