Delhi: Sanjay Singh walks out of jail; says time to struggle, give reply to BJP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh walked out of Tihar jail after six months on Wednesday (April 3), a day after he was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise policy case.

Singh hit out at the BJP, saying it has inducted all corrupt leaders and that it was time to give a reply to the party.

“AAP will not be scared. (Delhi Chief Minister Arvind) Kejriwal, (Manish) Sisodia, (Satyendar) Jain are in jail because they want to provide facilities to 2 crore people of Delhi. All of us are with Kejriwal,” Singh, who reached the AAP headquarters late on Wednesday night, told party workers.

“There is widespread tyranny in the country. The time has come to give a reply to the BJP,” he said, accusing the party of inducting all corrupt leaders from different parts of the country.

“Kejriwal won’t resign”

The AAP MP asserted that Arvind Kejriwal will not resign as the Delhi chief minister and continue to serve the people of the city.

“The BJP is asking him to resign. They are not asking for Kejriwal’s resignation, they are saying why does he not stop free electricity, water, free bus rides for women and Mohalla Clinics,” he said.

“I spent time in jail... (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji kaan khol kar suno (listen carefully), every leader and volunteer of the AAP stands firmly with Chief Minister Kejriwal,” he said.

He said it was not the time to celebrate but struggle and expressed confidence that other jailed party leaders will also come out soon.

“Bangaru Janta Party”

The BJP also wanted to arrest other AAP leaders, including ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and MLA durgesh Pathak, said Singh.

He charged that the BJP meant “Bangaru Janta Party”, referring to former BJP national president Bangaru Laxman who was convicted in a corruption case.

Singh alleged that the “biggest corrupt” were given the highest posts in the BJP.

Meets Sunita Kejriwal

After his release, Singh left for Kejriwal’s residence where he met his wife Sunita Kejriwal. In a video shared by the AAP, Singh is seen touching the feet of Sunita Kejriwal.

Singh asked the people of the country to be wary of “dictators” who would bring tears to their eyes, saying Kejriwal would bring a smile to their faces and provide good education and health facilities to them.

“If the dictator of the country can hear my voice, then listen, we are the AAP born out of a movement. We are not going to be intimidated by your threats,” Singh told AAP workers at the party headquarters.

“I saw tears in the eyes of Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, and Delhi’s 2 crore people will give a reply to the BJP for these tears,” he said.

“I will go and meet the families of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. They are like family to us and we are with them,” he added.

Walking out of jail

Dressed in a white kurta-pajama with a brown jacket, Singh was garlanded by AAP workers as he walked out of jail. The Rajya Sabha member climbed atop his vehicle to greet his supporters.

Singh had been lodged in the high-security Tihar jail in Delhi since October 13, 2023. He came out at 8.11 pm through gate number three.

Jail officials said he was released after the completion of the bail procedure.

A large number of AAP supporters assembled outside the jail and raised slogans like “Dekho dekho kaun aaya, sher aaya, sher aaya” and “Sanjay Singh Zindabad”. They also showered rose petals on him.

There was heavy security outside the jail in view of his release.

“Locks of jail will break”

“Arvind Kejriwal and our leaders have been put behind bars and I am confident that ‘ye jail ke taale tutenge hamare sare neta chhutenge’ (the locks of jail will break and all our leaders will come out).

“I want to say that this is not the time to celebrate, but struggle,” Singh said while addressing party supporters outside the jail.

Delhi Cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak were also present outside the jail.

“Our three leaders are in jail, so the party will continue to struggle,” Bharadwaj told reporters.

AAP’s post

Soon after Singh was released, the AAP said in a post on X in Hindi, “The lion broke the chains of the dictator and came out.”

Speaking to reporters, AAP leader Atishi said, “This is the victory of truth. The investigation into the fake excise case has been going on for the last two years. ED and CBI have deployed hundreds of their officers to find something in this case and conduct raids, but they have not recovered a single penny of corruption from any leader of the Aam Aadmi Party.”

She said that with Singh’s release, the AAP’s honesty has come out before the entire country.

The Supreme Court asked the ED again and again where is the money trail, but the agency did not have any reply and that’s why it did not oppose Singh’s bail plea, Atishi said.

No celebrations in family

Earlier, Singh was admitted to the ILBS Hospital in Vasant Kunj. Around 1.30 pm, after being discharged from the hospital, he was taken back to Tihar jail for completing the bail formalities.

On Tuesday, Singh had gone to ILBS for a regular checkup but got admitted. He received the news of his bail while he was in the hospital.

His wife Anita Singh has said the family will not celebrate his release as other AAP leaders are still in jail.

(With agency inputs)