New Delhi:

Union Minister Hardeep Puri calls Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal “shameless” for continuing to hold office despite his arrest in alleged liquor policy scam position, the scam triggered riots by the Aam Aadmi Party and the opposition India Bloc in the weeks ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

While the AAP claimed it was a political conspiracy to destroy the AAP government in Delhi and Punjab, the BJP said the ruling party in the national capital was “exposed” and Kejriwal was the “main figure”.

The sharp attack came shortly after the Delhi High Court on March 21 dismissed Mr Kejriwal’s petition challenging his arrest. The AAP boss’s home was raided and the Enforcement Directorate detained him hours after a court refused to grant him protection. arrest.

“I’m not a constitutional expert… so I can’t tell you whether he should continue. But, as someone who has devoted 50 years of public service, I think this is the height of outrageousness. Being arrested… in Tiha After being sent to jail… he has not resigned. I think that is completely shameless.”

Read | Arvind Kejriwal to remain in jail, arrest petition rejected

“If someone feels shameful and meets normal standards of political decency… they should resign immediately so that someone else can run the (Delhi) government,” he told New Delhi TV.

“A government cannot run from jails,” he declared, slamming AAP’s insistence that Kejriwal would not resign and would continue to run the Delhi government from Tihar Jail.

Since Tihar’s imprisonment, the chief minister has passed two ‘orders’ – one to Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj and the other to Public Works Minister Atishi. Both were condemned by the Bharatiya Janata Party, which questioned the constitutional legitimacy of the chief minister’s instructions from jail.

Read | Kejriwal’s second order comes as AAP sends ‘prison government’ message

The BJP has repeatedly called on Kejriwal to resign. Last month, in the days following his arrest, BJP workers staged massive protests on the streets of Delhi, demanding the AAP leader’s resignation.

“The chief minister should resign… There are nearly a dozen corruption charges against him…” said Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, a BJP lawmaker and leader of the opposition in Delhi Assembly.

There are also public interest litigations filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena and/or the Center to order Mr. Kejriwal’s resignation.

Read | ‘Let democracy take its course’: Petition to remove Kejriwal rejected

However, the High Court dismissed all such pleas. In an important observation, the bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan said “let democracy take its own course”.

Meanwhile, in an interview with New Delhi TV this evening, Mr Puri told Delhi High Court Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma against Arvind Kejriwal Applauded for the “no mercy” ruling in a defense challenge to the Department of Education’s arrest.

“The AAP challenged the arrest of Mr Kejriwal… but the learned judge pulled no punches in her reply. She said Mr Kejriwal, both in his personal capacity and as party convener, was complicit. He was involved (now – repeal) the alcohol policy,” he snarled

Responding to the AAP’s argument that Mr Kejriwal’s arrest was a measure to disrupt the party’s campaign – Mr Puri said: “An election does not protect you from arrest. He had nine chances to respond (Kejriwal Mr. Val skipped nine summonses from the investigative agencies)). He could have just gone after the first summons… noted down the facts and that was the end of the story.”

“The point is the court said the ED provided evidence and the arrest was appropriate,” he said.

Read | Kejriwal was kept in a 14×8 feet cell.See what the courts allow

Mr Kejriwal will remain in Tihar Jail till April 15 after the court upheld ED’s arrest.

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