Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surrendered at the Tihar Jail on Sunday as his interim bail expired. Through the day he offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place after visiting the Raj Ghat.
From the temple, Kejriwal proceeded to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) office on Rouse Avenue Road, where he will address party workers and leaders.
Accompanying the AAP national convenor were his wife Sunita Kejriwal, and party leaders including Delhi ministers Atishi, Kailash Gahlot, and Saurabh Bharadwaj. Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak, along with leaders Durgesh Pathak, Rakhi Birla, and Reena Gupta, were also present.
Kejriwal was released from prison on May 10 on interim bail granted by the Supreme Court. This bail was related to a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, allowing him to campaign in the Lok Sabha polls. The bail expired on June 1, coinciding with the last phase of the general elections.
Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP staged a protest outside Raj Ghat against Kejriwal, resulting in the detention of several party members by the police.
Earlier in the day, Kejriwal expressed his gratitude on social media, writing in Hindi on X, “On orders of the honourable Supreme Court, I came out from prison for the election campaign for 21 days. Many thanks to the honourable Supreme Court.”
He continued, “Today I will go to Tihar and surrender. I will leave home at 3 pm. First, I will go to Raj Ghat and pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi. From there, I will go to Hanuman Temple in Connaught Place to seek blessings of Hanuman ji. Then I will go to the party office and meet with workers and party leaders. From there, I will leave for Tihar.”
Kejriwal concluded with a message to his supporters: “All of you take care of yourselves. I will be worried about you. If you are happy, then your Kejriwal will also be happy in jail. Jai Hind.”
(with PTI inputs)
