'Will not need to return to jail if you vote for AAP': Kejriwal in Amritsar

Chandigarh/Amritsar, May 16 (PTI) Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged people to vote for AAP if they don't want him to return to jail.

Holding a roadshow in Punjab's Amritsar for the party's candidate Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, the AAP supremo also claimed that the BJP will end reservation for SC, ST and OBC if it gets a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Referring to the BJP, Kejriwal said saffron party leaders are saying he will have to go to jail after 20 days.

"Whether I go (back) to jail or not depends upon you. If you press the 'jhadoo' (AAP's election symbol) button, I will not need to go to jail," Kejriwal said.

"While pressing the button, remember if you are pressing the button for Kejriwal's freedom or for sending Kejriwal to jail," the AAP chief said.

A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta on Thursday refused to consider claims and counter claims by advocates for the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Kejriwal on statements related to the grant of interim bail to the AAP chief.

Appearing for the ED, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta objected to Kejriwal's speeches in poll rallies that if people vote for AAP, he will not have to go back to prison on June 2.

On May 10, the apex court granted Kejriwal interim bail till June 1, the last day of the seven-phase Lok Sabha elections, and directed him to surrender and go back to jail on June 2.

The Delhi chief minister was arrested on March 21.

Attacking the BJP during the roadshow, Kejriwal said elections will no longer be held in the country if the BJP is reelected.

It has done complete planning, Kejriwal said and added, "If it gets a majority, it will end reservation for SC, ST, OBC and finish the Constitution." These elections are not ordinary polls, he said.

"AAP is fighting it (BJP) and that is why it is after us," Kejriwal said.

"They have put big leaders in jail. But jail is not a problem for us. For us, the country and the Constitution are supreme," he added.

Earlier, Kejriwal offered prayers at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, during his first visit to the state since being granted interim bail.

He also paid obeisance at the Durgiana Temple. PTI