Amid heavy rainfall, senior leaders and workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) gathered to welcome Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as he exited Tihar Jail on Friday evening after spending over six months in custody. Kejriwal was granted bail earlier that day by the Supreme Court in connection with the excise policy case.
Addressing a crowd that included his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi Minister Atishi, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, and other party leaders, Kejriwal expressed his gratitude to those who braved the rain to show their support.
He said, “All of you came out in such large numbers in the rain; I want to thank you all for doing that. My life is devoted to the nation. I have faced a lot of struggles and hardships, but God has been with me because I walked on the path of truth.”
Without directly naming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Kejriwal criticized his political adversaries, stating, “These people put me in jail and thought that they would be able to break my morale. But after coming out of jail, my morale and strength have increased 100 times. I will continue to follow the path shown by God and fight against the forces that are trying to divide the nation.”
As Kejriwal left the jail premises in a car, supporters, including Mann, Sisodia, and others atop a truck, chanted slogans like “jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal chhoot gaye” (the jail locks have been broken, Kejriwal is free).
After his release, Kejriwal participated in a roadshow, addressing a large crowd of supporters. “Friends, today the country is going through a very delicate situation,” he declared. “Kejriwal is a very small thing. Kejriwal is not important. The country is important. Today, there are some people in the country who are anti-national. There are powers that are trying to weaken the country from within. They are trying to divide the country and make brother fight brother.”
He continued to express his concerns about attempts to undermine the judiciary and the justice system. “Efforts are being made to weaken the judiciary. Judges are being intimidated,” he said. “Today, efforts are being made to weaken the Election Commission. The ED and CBI are being taken over. We have to fight this. I have to do it, friends. My fault is not that I did any corruption. My fault is that I raised my voice against those anti-national forces. That is why I had to go to jail. But I have always fought against these forces and will continue to do so.”
Following Kejriwal’s release, party leader and Delhi government minister Gopal Rai remarked that the BJP believed the Aam Aadmi Party would collapse after Kejriwal’s imprisonment. “Today, Arvind Kejriwal did not break down; rather, he got released. We will neither break, nor bow down, nor stop,” he asserted.
The Supreme Court outlined specific conditions for Kejriwal’s bail, stipulating that Kejriwal cannot visit his office or the Delhi Secretariat or sign official files without the approval of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, with whom he and his government have frequently clashed.
Kejriwal’s release marks a pivotal moment for the Aam Aadmi Party as it continues its political journey amid legal challenges and confrontations with rival parties. The AAP chief’s statements have set the tone for an ongoing battle against what he describes as divisive forces attempting to weaken the country.
