New Delhi: The Delhi Rouse Avenue Court on Thursday extended Enforcement Directorate (ED) remand of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1 in excise policy case.
Arrested CM Arvind Kejriwal, who was produced before a Rouse Avenue Court, maintained that his arrest is a "political conspiracy" and that the state he rules would give a befitting response to the "conspirators". Kejriwal himself made submissions in a court here during the hearing in the excise policy case and said a "smokescreen" of the AAP being "corrupt" has been created before the nation.
The Delhi CM made the submissions as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) produced him in the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja and sought seven-day further custody, arguing he needs to be confronted with some people linked with the case.
"ED has two motives - to create a smokescreen to crush AAP and two, to create an extortion racket. Raghav Reddy contributed 55 crores to BJP. He bought his bail. Money trail is clearly established," Kejriwal said in his submission.
"I was arrested... but no court has proved me guilty. The CBI has filed 31,000 pages (of chargesheets) and ED filed 25,000 pages. Even if you read them together... the question remains... why have I been arrested?" Kejriwal asked the court.
"My name came just four times... and once it was 'C Arvind'. He said that in his presence Sisodia gave me some documents. But MLAs came to my house daily... to give me files, to discuss the government. Is a statement like this enough to arrest a sitting Chief Minister?" Kejriwal further asked.
In the court, Kejriwal alleged that the Enforcement Directorate has only one mission, and that is to trap him. "Three statements were given (by one witness)... but the court only saw those that accused me. Why? This is not right," the Delhi CM alleged.
"Another witness had given six statements that did not name the Chief Minister, but he was released after a seventh that did so. If there really is a scam of 100 crore... where is the money?" Kejriwal asked.
In a separate development, the Delhi High Court on Thursday turned down a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking Arvind Kejriwal's removal as chief minister following the arrest.
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan refused to comment on the merits of the issue, saying the same fell outside the scope of judicial interference. "It is for the other wings of the government to examine in accordance with the law," the bench, also comprising Justice Manmeet PS Arora, said.
During the hearing, the court asked petitioner Surjit Singh Yadav's counsel to show the legal bar on the continuation of Kejriwal as the chief minister. "There may be practical difficulties but that is something else. Where is the legal bar?" the court asked.
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