The Supreme Court’s order on Friday granting bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is in consonance with the dictum about bail and not jail being the norm. The Aam Aadmi Party leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on March 21 and by the CBI on June 26 in the same liquor excise case. The CBI too had arrested him in the excise case on the eve of his getting bail from the apex court, another unwelcome feature of the investigations in high-profile criminal cases whether against politicians or others.
With the release of Kejriwal, and earlier the release on bail of his close associate and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, most of the high profile accused in the excise case are now out on bail. It can be no one’s case that the central government has not pursued the investigations in this case vigorously. But Kerjiwal has offered not even half a cogent reason for abandoning the controversial policy once the scandal hit headlines.
Besides, the fact that in the Goa poll the party sought to match the other two parties in the use of political finance was borne out by all the externals of a well-oiled poll campaign as also from the statements to the investigating agencies that AAP candidates were provided through hawala sources up to Rs.90 lakhs each for electioneering. All this, of course, was aimed at fulfilling the AAP Supremo’s ambition to become a national leader in his eventual quest for the highest office in the land.
Ambition is alright, but w.