By Sushil Kutty
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s “imminent arrest” has been on the cards for two-three days and the AAP convener has been milking every drop of sympathy from talk of his imminent “arrest”. That said, while half of Delhi is convinced Kejriwal is corrupt to the core, the other half is still making up its mind. Arvind Kejriwal on January 4 dramatically pronounced that the Narendra Modi government was hell bent on robbing him of his most precious wealth – the thick vein of irreversible honesty that runs through his veins.
The danger is in believing in Kejriwal. For it is very hard not to believe in Arvind Kejriwal. A posse of Delhi policemen were at the AAP convener’s residence and the richly fitted mansion was tightly sewed up from the winter chill. The problem is, the Delhi Police is controlled by the Union Home Ministry and it was not clear whether the police were there to protect Kejriwal or prevent Kejriwal from fleeing arrest.
Chief Minister Kejriwal and the Union government are not the best of friends. “Kejriwal’s imminent arrest” was scrolling through television screens from six in the morning and police forces were at the spot from about the same ‘am’. In Delhi Thursday, Arvind Kejriwal was the “Most Wanted”. And there was no uncertainty dogging the Delhi Chief Minister’s “imminent arrest”.
At the same time, AAP’s truncated leadership sounded resigned and prepared for the AAP strongman’s apprehension. This, as the BJP wondered from where AAP got intelligence that Kejriwal’s arrest was imminent. “Where do these fellows get such information from?” asked a BJP leader.
Most likely, the Enforcement Directorate will get its sticky hands on Kejriwal and will arrest him in due course following due process. The BJP cannot afford to give Kejriwal a legal loophole. The Delhi Chief Minister will be the fourth or fifth AAP leader to end up in ED custody.
Kejriwal’s “Vipassana” break is over and his arrest, when it happens, will be the biggest by far of AAP arrests in the alleged Delhi Liquor Scam. Kejriwal has been skipping ED summons and challenging the Modi government to take him through the grinder. Meanwhile, general elections are getting closer and chances are that Kejriwal might be in jail when the INDI-Alliance will be taking historical election-altering decisions.
Reality is that Kejriwal’s arrest will not be mourned. The gestation periods between the AAP arrests so far have prepared the electorate for the likely arrest of Arvind Kejriwal. And Kejriwal is no more special, unique or a bigger catch than Manish Sisodia, Satyender Jain or Sanjay Singh.
It is just that for some reason not made public, Sisodia, Jain and Singh aren’t able to get bail. Perhaps that’s what awaits Kejriwal or what he fears. Money laundering is a serious charge and alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy mustn’t be wrong.
Police and reporters and cameras have been outside Arvind Kejriwal’s house for far too long –expecting his “imminent arrest”. The question is, does the Modi government have a case? It is hard to tell. Look at what happened with NCP’s Ajit Pawar. The allegedly corrupt politician marked for “chakki peesing-peesing” is currently Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister with policemen guarding him and his residence in Mumbai.
Let’s not fool ourselves, the INDIA bloc has been witnessing the Enforcement Directorate dancing to the tune of the Centre – enacting arrest drama after arrest drama and politicians walking free after getting rolled by central investigating agencies and found “honest” – always for the electoral benefit of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Arvind Kejriwal says he should have joined the BJP and there wouldn’t have been no police outside his residence waiting for orders to grab him by the scruff of his muffler-bound throat. Are Kejriwal’s pronouncements meant to take the focus away from his alleged complicity in the excise scam?
The Delhi Chief Minister might not be involved in the so-called Delhi excise policy scam and he might be the least informed Chief Minister in all of independent India’s history, but getting fooled by bad apples in his own Council of Ministers is no excuse to be let off free.
Unfortunately, “complicit by association” applies and Arvind Kejriwal is bang in the middle of the Delhi Liquor Scam. The man cannot escape by a whisker. He has played every trick he and his AAP associates know, but at the end of the day he still faces “imminent arrest”.
Chances are by afternoon on Friday, the Delhi Chief Minister will be in the enforcement directorate’s clutches. The agency must have its orders and will not be able to hold back any further. If there is any party which can beat the Bharatiya Janata Party “out of the blue” it’s the Aam Aadmi Party. Getting the “kattar imaandar” Kejriwal behind bars on corruption charges is the only way to put a halt to “Honest-AAP’s” election landslides. (IPA Service)
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