Arvind Kejriwal’s Arrest and the Excise Policy Fallout
In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took into custody Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was being questioned in connection with the suspicious excise policy case.
This has drawn country-wide protests organized by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has increased the level of security and traffic advisories in and around the national capital. The arrest of Kejriwal is in relation to a high-profile case wherein money laundering was involved, linked with the excise policy of Delhi, as he is the first sitting chief minister to go through such a procedure.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had declined to agree to Kejriwal’s plea for protection from any coercive action in this matter and allowed the ED to search his residence before arresting him. This informed a very controversial excise policy debut that the Delhi government made in the year 2022 but has since retracted, amidst claims of it sharply and unfairly favoring private liquor vendors and, at the very onset, having seriously financially mismanaged.
#WATCH | Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal brought to the ED Headquarters.
Enforcement Directorate team arrested him in the Excice Policy Case. pic.twitter.com/iMSzw6QmgF
— ANI (@ANI) March 21, 2024
Kejriwal was supposed to appear for questioning by the ED on so many occasions but had not appeared, citing varied reasons, further widening the gap between the Delhi government and the central agencies. The AAP declared that after getting arrested, it is ready to govern from inside the jail, thereby indicating that the party and its roles had a desperate mood to continue in administration and politics.
This big news literally has the potential to change the political landscape of Delhi and may change the course of debate again about the timing of his arrest and motives behind it, more so as the country gets into general elections. With AAP set to agitate from the current state to the entire country, Kejriwal’s detention had set varied responses from political leaders and parties across. While it was hailed as warranted in the spirit of accountability by some, many others were pretty critical and labeled it an attempt to muffle the voice of the opposition.
See, this is the time for everyone to watch closely to see what this really means for democracy, the way the government functions, and, indeed, the upcoming elections.
