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<\/div>\nAAP leaders address a press conference after Arvind Kejriwal got interim bail<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
New Delhi: <\/b><\/p>\n
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting interim bail from the Supreme Court after he challenged his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate is “not less than a miracle”, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj told reporters today.<\/p>\n
Mr Kejriwal can campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, but has to surrender before the jail authorities on June 2 as the interim bail is valid only till June 1. Votes will be counted on June 4.<\/p>\n
Sources said he will travel across the country to campaign for the AAP and the Opposition bloc INDIA.<\/p>\n
“Getting interim bail in 40 days is more than a miracle. Through the Supreme Court, it is a hint from god that whatever is happening in India, a change is needed. Arvind Kejriwal has the blessings of Lord Bajrangbali, and today he will come out of jail. I think it’s not an ordinary thing. He is coming out of jail for a big purpose,” Mr Bharadwarj, flanked by AAP leaders Gopal Rai and Atishi, told reporters.<\/p>\n
The AAP said the Supreme Court order is essentially a pushback against a “constitutional threat”.<\/p>\n
The parties in the Opposition bloc INDIA have long been accusing the BJP-led central government of using central agencies to harass rivals with false cases.<\/p>\n
Once out of jail, Mr Kejriwal will join the INDIA bloc’s election campaigns, though voting in three of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections is over.<\/p>\n
A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said a detailed order explaining why the Supreme Court decided to give interim bail to Mr Kejriwal will be made available later today.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed the interim relief on the grounds that a politician cannot claim a “special status” higher than that of any other citizen, and is as much liable to be arrested and detained for offences as any other citizen.<\/p>\n
No political leader has been given interim bail for campaigning, although Mr Kejriwal is not the contesting candidate, the ED said in its affidavit. Even a contesting candidate is never granted interim bail for campaigning if the person is in custody, the ED said.<\/p>\n
Mr Kejriwal had gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court’s April 10 judgment, which dismissed his petition challenging his arrest by the ED.<\/p>\n
He was arrested on March 21.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n