India: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held on remand

One of India’s leading opposition politicians appeared in court on Friday and was remanded in custody until March 28 in connection with a long-running corruption probe.

Arvind Kejriwal, who is the chief minister of the capital city, Delhi, is a key leader in an opposition alliance formed to compete against current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Kejriwal’s supporters claim the charges are an attempt to sideline him from the election.

"We are considering our next course of action," lawyer Shadan Farasat said.

Why was Arvind Kejriwal jailed?

Kejriwal, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), was arrested on Thursday ahead of next month’s highly anticipated election.

Kejriwal's Delhi government was accused of corruption in 2021 when it implemented a policy to liberalize the sale of liquor and handed over a lucrative government stake in the sector. 

The policy was rescinded in 2022, but a probe into the alleged corrupt allocation of licenses has since seen the jailing of two top Kejriwal allies.

Having held the post of chief minister for nearly a decade, Kejriwal had resisted multiple summonses from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to be interrogated as part of the probe in the past year. 

Following his arrest, Kejriwal dismissed the allegations against him, saying it was a politically motivated smear campaign by Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party.

Supporters protest across India

Ram Pratap Singh, a spokesperson for the Samajwadi Party, said the move to arrest Kejriwal was a calculated plot to silence all opposition voices ahead of the general elections.

"This is bound to backfire and just goes to show the despicable depths this government is willing to go. Opposition unity will strengthen and fuel our resolve to defeat the BJP," Singh told DW in New Delhi.

Hundreds of AAP supporters took to the streets of Delhi on Friday following the news of Kejriwal’s arrest.

An AFP journalist at the scene reported several people being detained by police including Delhi’s education minister Atishi Marlena Singh and health minister Saurabh Bhardwaj.

"We made it clear from the beginning that if needed, Arvind Kejriwal will run the government from jail," Singh told reporters.

Several opposition members arrested on graft charges

More than two dozen opposition parties have teamed up to jointly contest India’s national election that will take place from April to June.

Up to nine BJP opponents have been arrested on alleged graft charges over the past two years, raising international concerns over the democratic process of the upcoming election.

"Not a single BJP leader faces scrutiny or arrest, laying bare their abuse of power and the decay of democracy," Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin, a fellow member of the opposition bloc, said.

The German government said it expected India to uphold "basic democratic principles."

"[Mr] Kejriwal is entitled to a fair and impartial trial. This includes that he can make use of all available legal avenues without restriction. The presumption of innocence is a central element of the rule of law and must apply to him," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson told DW's Richard Walker in Berlin. 

Murali Krishnan contributed reporting to this article.

km/rc (AFP/Reuters)