Kejriwal calls liquor case biggest political conspiracy after discharge

Arvind Kejriwal broke down after a Delhi court discharged him and Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case. Calling it a political conspiracy, he accused the Centre of targeting AAP leaders, while the court found flaws in the CBI chargesheet

New Delhi: An emotional Arvind Kejriwal on Friday asserted that the corruption case against him was the “biggest political conspiracy” in the history of Independent India, as a court here discharged him in the politically sensational liquor policy case.

After the court verdict, Kejriwal broke down while talking to reporters. The AAP convener was present in court when the order was passed.

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“The court has proved that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and AAP are ‘Kattar Imaandar’,” he said, accompanied by former deputy chief minister of Delhi Sisodia.

Kejriwal alleged that the “conspiracy” of the excise case was hatched to finish off AAP at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

“I always used to say that God is with us. Modi ji and Amit Shah ji together hatched the biggest political conspiracy of Independent India. The five biggest leaders of AAP were sent to jail to finish off the party,” the former Delhi chief minister alleged.

“For the first time, a sitting Chief Minister was dragged out of his home and put in jail,” Kejriwal said, reminding people of his and Sisodia’s jailing.

The entire case was fake, asserted Kejriwal, who was arrested in the alleged liquor scam case in March 2024 by the Enforcement Directorate.

“Mud-slinging was resorted to against us. There were round-the-clock TV debates, and news was flashed that Kejriwal is corrupt,” he said, breaking down.

He continued in a hoarse voice, “I have only earned honesty. They registered a fake case. Today, it is proved. The court has said, ‘Kejriwal Kattar Imandar Hai, Manish Sisodia Kattar Imandar Hai, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Kattar Imandar Hai.’” The AAP supremo said he wanted to tell the prime minister not to toy with the country and the Constitution in his pursuit of power.

“If you want power, do good things. There are so many problems, inflation, unemployment, broken roads, pollution. Solve these problems to come to power,” he said.

The AAP chief was greeted by his family at his residence on Feroz Shah Road. Party members and supporters danced to drum beats and distributed sweets.

Sunita Kejriwal, his wife, thanked the court and the judge for “bravery.”

“Arvind Kejriwal led his entire life with honesty and for the progress of the country. But these people, in their greed for power, levelled fake charges and jailed his aides. But I had faith in God,” she told PTI Videos.

Before the court vindication, the multi-crore corruption allegations led to the jailing of Kejriwal and Sisodia for an extended period.

After he went to prison, Kejriwal resigned from the post of Delhi chief minister, vowing to return only when he was proven innocent.

Kejriwal became the first sitting Delhi chief minister to be arrested on March 21, 2024. He got bail from the Supreme Court of India on September 13 of the same year.

Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, spent around 17 months in jail before being released on bail.

On Friday, a Delhi court discharged both leaders in the excise policy-related corruption case, refusing to take cognisance of the Central Bureau of Investigation chargesheet.

Special Judge Jitendra Singh said the chargesheet had several lacunae not supported by evidence, as he discharged 21 more besides the two Aam Aadmi Party leaders in the matter.

K Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and a leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi, was also among those discharged.

The CBI has been probing alleged corruption in the formulation and execution of the erstwhile AAP government’s now-scrapped excise policy.