Why Arvind Kejriwal may be in for long haul, plus political implications
Vibha Sharma
Chandigarh, March 22
So, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested Kejriwal under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, in connection with a money-laundering case related to a liquor scam.
Kejriwal had refused to comply with the eight summons issued by the agency.
Though Kejriwal is not the only one to be arrested while holding the post of chief minister, its implications may be wide, especially with the Lok Sabha elections around the corner. However, that will only be if key players BJP and AAP play their cards well.
Incidentally, Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa was the first sitting CM to be arrested after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case in September 2014. Then in February this year, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren was arrested by ED hours after he resigned from the position.
Former CMs to find themselves in the situation include Bihar’s Lalu Prasad, Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu, Haryana’s Om Prakash Chautala and Jharkhand’s Madhu Koda.
Will it affect elections
Sources say those in power (read BJP and its top leadership) are “well aware of the implications” of the arrest of “someone of the stature of Kejriwal but it is a chance that the ruling party is willing to take in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s fight against corruption”.
Kejriwal remains the biggest name to be arrested in the alleged scam after BRS leader K Kavitha, former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh.
As per the law, Kejriwal does not need to resign from his post, that is a moral decision of a sitting CM. But Kejriwal’s next move has the potential to be played either way, either to gain sympathy by AAP or to score another point against corruption by those in high offices by the BJP.
Opposition parties, including the Congress, have criticised the government over the CM’s arrest, terming it “death of democracy” and “unconstitutional” but can it erase the statements raised by its leaders on the issue when AAP was not an ally or a friend?
Enforcement Directorate and PMLA
Opposition parties have accused PM Modi and his government of misusing the Central investigating agencies to target and intimidate opponents.
The fact is PMLA was brought in by the NDA government in 2002 and made stringent by amendments during the UPA regime.
Under the law, the ED has powers to investigate people, conduct searches and raids, and even arrest citizens under the stringent provisions of the Act in conformity with India’s international commitments to curb money-laundering.
The legislation has a certain procedure for probing such cases and does not follow the CrPC, a set of procedural rules governing general criminal proceedings in India. Under the Act, the accused person has the burden to prove his innocence as against established criminal law principle of innocence until proven guilty, they add.
Besides, it is very difficult to get bail under the Act.
The PMLA has strict conditions for bail, making it challenging for the accused. All offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bailable, with no provision for anticipatory bail.
Broadly speaking, those arrested under the PMLA must prove in court that the charges against them are baseless which can be a difficult task. This may be one of the reasons why AAP leaders Manish Sisodia. Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh are still languishing behind the bars.
