"Had Said Earlier That They Will Arrest Atishi Next": Arvind Kejriwal On Summons To His Minister

A Delhi court on Tuesday issued summons to Delhi minister Atishi in a defamation case filed by Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor. The case pertains to Atishi”s claims that the BJP had approached Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders with offers of ₹20-30 crores to switch parties. Reacting to the summons to his minister, AAP convenor and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the he had warned about Atishi being arrested next. His comments are significant as many of his colleagues are languishing in jail including former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former health minister Satyender Jain. Currently, Mr Kejriwal himself is out on an interim bail after he was arrested earlier in an alleged Delhi liquor scam case.

However, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) Tanya Bamniyal of the Rouse Avenue Courts determined that there was no prima facie case to issue summons against Mr Kejriwal.

Reacting to the court”s decision, Kejriwal remarked, “I had said earlier that they will arrest Atishi next. They are planning to do so now. Complete dictatorship. In completely flimsy, frivolous, and false cases, they are arresting all leaders of AAP one by one. Every single opposition leader will be arrested if Modi ji comes back to power. AAP is not important. Saving our dear country from dictatorship is important.”

AAP and other INDIA alliance partners have made the arrests of Opposition leaders an issue in the ongoing general elections and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the NDA government for using central agencies for political use. Delhi Police comes under the union home ministry.