Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to visit the Connaught Place Hanuman Temple on Saturday, a day after he walked out of Tihar Jail following the Supreme Court's decision to grant interim relief to him.
The Delhi CM will also hold a press conference later at the office of the Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi. Kejriwal said on Friday that he would also take part in a roadshow in South Delhi in the evening.
After spending more than 50 days in Tihar Jail, Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 in connection with the excise policy scam, was granted interim bail by the top court. He was arrested days after the Election Commission announced the poll dates for the general elections.
Arvind Kejriwal's bail is applicable till June 1 and Kejriwal will be required to surrender to the authorities on June 2. He can take part in poll campaigning, however, he will not be allowed to attend his office as the Chief Minister.
While addressing supporters on his way back from the jail on Friday, Kejriwal said, "I had promised to come back soon, here I am." "I want to thank all of you. Crores and crores of people across the country prayed for me. I want to thank the Supreme Court because of whom I'm standing here with you. I just have one request to make with all of you we should together save the country from dictatorship. I'm fighting and protesting against dictatorship with everything I have. But the 140 crore people have to fight against dictatorship," he said.
Terming it as the victory of democracy, Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal hailed the Supreme Court's decision. "Hanuman ji ki jai. This is the victory of democracy. It is the result of the prayers and blessings of millions of people. Many thanks to everyone," she said in a post on X.
The parties in the opposition belonging to the INDIA bloc across the nation welcomed the decision of the apex court. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote in a post on X, "I am very happy to see that Shri Arvind Kejriwal @ArvindKejriwal has got interim bail. It will be very helpful in the context of the current elections."
Meanwhile, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "He was arrested at the time of elections and now the court has given this relief. Hope the government will not make such a mistake in the future."
On the other hand, the leaders of the BJP criticised the opposition and pointed out that Kejriwal has not been proven innocent, and is only out on bail till June 1.
The Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, "He has been granted bail for the election campaign till June 1 but what after that? Getting interim bail does not mean that you have been proven innocent. It will not affect the elections, BJP will win all 7 seats of Delhi."
Meanwhile, SC lawyer Shadan Farasat, who represented Arvind Kejriwal said that the order is operable till June 2 and added that there are no restrictions on what he can or cannot say in his election campaigning.
The AAP chief is expected to take part in the poll campaigns of the party in the run-up to the general elections in Delhi which are set to be held on May 25.
