On December 7, 1996, the ruling DMK arrested former chief minister J Jayalalithaa and sent her to prison for a month on charges of corruption in the purchase of TV sets for villagers. In 2001, she bounced back to power. On June 30, that year, the Tamil Nadu police arrested M Karunanidhi — almost as an act of revenge — in a dramatic way as police carried him out of his house at midnight. Soon, protests erupted, and the DMK came back to power in the next election. So, the implication of Kejriwal’s arrest resulting in a sympathy wave in Delhi and Punjab — states ruled by the AAP — and Haryana — where Kejriwal is originally from—cannot be discounted.
While one set points to the galvanisation of a fractured Opposition, the other predicts a possible political and legal challenge to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), under which Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, K Kavitha, Sanjay Singh, and Hemant Soren have been arrested by the ED. In both cases, it is the BJP that has to lose, they argue, regardless of the fact that Kejriwal has disregarded nine summons so far.
BJP insiders maintain Kejriwal’s stature is neither Jayalalithaa’s nor Karunanidhi’s, nor are we in the 90s, when emotions largely guided politics. The BJP also cites the successive jolts from the Delhi High Court and Supreme Court to claim that voters can see through the chief minister’s facade. ‘Kejriwal Exposed’ has been one of the top trends on X, where BJP-leaning handles present facts about the scam to set the narrative in the party’s favour.
In early signs, it seems it may help the BJP — not just in Delhi but across India — and divide the Congress.
Maken said ‘100 cr scam’, Pranab’s daughter sees ‘Karma’
Soon after the arrest, BJP leader Amit Malviya posted a dated video from not so long ago where Congress leader Ajay Maken was seen giving a description of the liquor scam, which is worth “at least Rs 100 crore” and involves kickbacks. He added that the money trail has been established, demanding Kejriwal step down.
After Rahul Gandhi’s open support for Kejriwal, where he spoke to the chief minister’s family and offered legal help, Maken retweeted Gandhi’s post condemning Kejriwal’s arrest but desisted from posting any condemnation himself or giving any press statements. When Manish Sisodia was arrested, Maken had alleged that Kejriwal used the ill-gotten money from a liquor scam against the Congress in the Goa election, which is what “Congress leaders supporting Kejriwal need to understand”.
While no longer an active member of the party, former President Pranab Mukherjee’s daughter, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, reminded how Kejriwal, before the launch of his political career, was “responsible for making the most irresponsible, baseless & wild allegations against Congress, including Sheila Dikshit,” and added, “Karma catches up”. Before the launch of AAP, India Against Corruption (IAC) activists had thrown slippers at then Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, infuriating many.
Former Congress media coordinator Rachit Seth, who stepped down from his position in 2019 and has in the past worked with senior party leaders like former PM Dr Manmohan Singh, too, hit out at the chief minister. “Don’t forget, this is the same Arvind Kejriwal who made vile allegations of corruption against Dr Manmohan Singh ji,” he said. Before their political launch, IAC activists, many of whom later joined AAP, threw coal blocks inside 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, alleging Dr Singh’s involvement in the coal scam.
Division not just limited to Delhi
The division within Congress isn’t just limited to the national capital. In Punjab, the AAP has run a high-decibel, anti-Congress campaign since the 2017 assembly polls, followed by the 2019 Lok Sabha election. Mehtab Singh Khaira is the son of Congressman and former Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira. Reminding of Kejriwal’s reaction when his father was “illegally arrested”, Khaira Junior said, “Arvind Kejriwal said we have arrested a drug smuggler. Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED is justice.”
Sohom Banerjee, former state secretary of the West Bengal Congress, too termed Kejriwal’s arrest as “justice”. He took to social media to say: “You can all crib or cry, but I can never support a man who’s a product of RSS, mini Sanghi and who wanted to arrest Shiela Dixit ji and wanted Sonia Gandhi in Jail. I can never support Arvind Kejriwal.” Banerjee was referring to Kejriwal’s dare in 2016 when he asked the reason for the delay in arresting Sonia Gandhi in the Augusta Westland Scam.
Chasing the larger issue?
Congress leader Sandip Dikshit, son of Sheila Dikshit, reached outside the CM’s house on Thursday to show solidarity with AAP. “Had you (agencies) come in the morning, one would understand. Is it the way you come at one or two in the night and then arrest someone?” he asked. The tone of protest was subdued in comparison to that of Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi. Kejriwal had an acrimonious relationship with Dikshit’s mother, whom the chief minister repeatedly called “corrupt” and promised to “throw in jail”. He ended Sheila Dikshit’s political career by defeating her in the 2013 Delhi assembly election.
While Pawan Khera too objected to Kejriwal’s arrest, he clubbed it along with the freezing of Congress’ accounts and the arrest of Hemant Soren — making it part of a larger issue.
Khera served as the personal secretary of Sheila Dikshit for a long time and hadn’t taken too kindly to Kejriwal’s diatribe against the then chief minister. He, too, has raised the liquor scam issue in the past. In fact, in March last year, Khera took credit for the probe into the scam on behalf of the Congress, claiming they “forced” the Centre to act.
None of these voices are happy to stand by Arvind Kejriwal today as the ED grills him.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra was one of the founding members of the AAP and was sacked for raising his voice against irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board. Calling it “a day of happiness for so many IAC volunteers who left their jobs to join this movement, believing Kejriwal,” he denies that the arrest will boomerang politically. “The way the Delhi High Court took a stand on Thursday and how the Supreme Court has taken a strong stand on multiple occasions, denying bail to top leaders, including Manish Sisodia, sends a clear message that they committed a crime and justice must be done.”