Arvind Kejriwal offers prayers at Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place before returning to jail

NEW DELHI : Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal offered prayers at Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place in the national capital on Sunday.

Kejriwal was given interim bail by the Supreme Court to campaign for the Lok Sabha elections on May 10 and was asked to surrender to Tihar jail on June 2.

Earlier, the Delhi Chief Minister paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat in the national capital.

Delhi CM, his wife Sunita Kejriwal, Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Raghav Chadha, Kailash Gahlot, and other AAP leaders were present at the Raj Ghat.

In a post on X, the Delhi CM thanked the Supreme Court for granting him interim bail in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

“I came out for an election campaign for 21 days on the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. I am very grateful to the Hon’ble Supreme Court. Today I will surrender by going to Tihar,” Kejriwal posted on X.

“I will leave home at 3 pm. First, I will go to Rajghat and pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. From there, I will go to the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place to seek the blessings of Hanuman Ji. And from there, I will go to the party office and meet all the workers and party leaders. From there, I will again leave for Tihar,” he added.

“All of you take care of yourselves. If you are happy, then your Kejriwal will also be happy in jail,” the Delhi CM said.

#WATCH | Delhi CM and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, his wife Sunita Kejriwal, Delhi ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Kailash Gahlot and other AAP leaders leave from Rajghat.

Arvind Kejriwal will surrender at the Tihar Jail later today at the end of his interim… pic.twitter.com/MjfLxqtr5d

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2024

The Delhi CM had earlier moved the Supreme Court for an extension of interim bail. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected his plea, stating that since he was given liberty to move the trial court for regular bail, the plea here is not maintainable.

Meanwhile, Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court on Saturday reserved the order on the interim bail plea moved by Kejriwal, citing medical reasons in a money laundering case related to the alleged excise policy scam.

#WATCH | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and his wife Sunita Kejriwal offer prayers at Hanuman Mandir in Connaught Place.

Arvind Kejriwal will surrender at Tihar Jail later today at the end of his interim bail granted by Supreme Court to campaign for Lok Sabha elections on May 10. He… pic.twitter.com/92gkd3oSct

— ANI (@ANI) June 2, 2024

The court fixed June 5 for the pronouncement of the order on the plea seeking 7-day bail, while refused to pass the order today itself as requested by Kejriwal’s Lawyer.

Earlier, Arvind Kejriwal posted an emotional message on Friday and said that he is proud that he is going to jail to save the country from dictatorship.

In his video message, Kejriwal said, “The 21 days are getting over; I have to surrender. I don’t know how long they will keep me in jail this time. But my spirits are high. I am going to jail to save the country from dictatorship. I am proud of this. They tried to break me many times, tried to make me bow down but I didn’t.”

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 in connection with a money laundering probe relating to alleged irregularities in the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy 2021-22. (ANI)