'When somebody is victimised, the Congress will not keep quiet'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in a money-laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy case earlier this month. He has been running his government from prison.

Even as Opposition parties such as the Congress, DMK, and Samajwadi Party condemned his arrest, the Delhi High Court turned down his plea challenging it, and now his remand has been extended till April 1 by the Rouse Avenue court.

While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has asserted that Kejriwal will continue to be the CM of Delhi, BJP leaders have been bashing him and the AAP for the situation in the national capital. Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has said categorically that the “Delhi government will not be run from jail”.

So, how far is it tenable for the AAP to claim that Kejriwal will continue to run the government from jail? The Federal asked V Narayanasamy, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of Puducherry, about the situation in Delhi, Anna Hazare, and more. Edited excerpts:

Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21, remains in prison to date in a money-laundering case. He is managing the affairs of the state from behind bars. What is your opinion on the situation?

The Constitution does not say that if a minister or chief minister is arrested, s/he has to resign from the post. According to the Constitution, they can continue even if they are in jail.

As far as the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal is concerned, according to me, it’s political vendetta. The case was registered two years ago. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the CBI conducted several searches and found nothing.

Ultimately, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was arrested first based on hearsay, and now, simply based on a statement given by somebody, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested.

The case was pending for two years. The arrest has been made now simply to prevent Kejriwal from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls and also to thwart his victory in Delhi and Punjab.

The Delhi High Court has refused to grant any relief to Kejriwal. Serious allegations have been made, including his direct involvement in framing the liquor policy to favour certain individuals. How long do you think this situation will persist?

The case will go on; evidence has to be produced; witnesses have to be produced. Then, you have to cross-examine the witnesses — it’s a long process.

On the other hand, there is clear-cut evidence in the case of electoral bonds. Why is the Modi government not reacting to that? Is this Modi’s “clean government”?

BJP President JP Nadda, Prime Minister Modi, and other leaders of the party received electoral bonds for their party. Among the donors were some 41 persons against whom the ED and CBI filed cases and income-tax inquiry is pending. They paid money via bonds immediately after their arrest or inquiry.

In the liquor policy case, too, an Andhra Pradesh-based businessman named Sarath Chandra Reddy donated electoral bonds amounting to Rs 5 crore to the BJP within five days of his arrest by the ED. This should be taken up against Nadda, Modi, or any other BJP leader. It can rightly be called the Electoral Bond-gate scandal (after Watergate scandal).

Why is Kejriwal not getting any sympathy from the general public? We can see only his party cadres raising voices and protesting.

Only party cadres will protest on the roads. People will show their sympathy in the election through their votes. That the people have sympathy for him will be known at the time of election. Their sympathy will be known only when there is a test. They will not come out and protest.

Anna Hazare says Kejriwal, who campaigned against liquor once, encouraged the consumption of liquor with his liquor policy, and that he was arrested for his “deeds”. Your comments.

Why is Anna Hazare silent on corruption of the BJP government? When the Congress government was in power, he came out and sat on a dharna, a hunger strike. Why is he silent now? There are clear corruption cases in BJP-ruled states; why is he silent on that? He is not even condemning it. He is playing a dubious role. He has become an agent of BJP.

The Congress has in the past criticised Kejriwal on many occasions, but now your party is very sympathetic towards him. Is it because of the elections?

No, when somebody is victimised, the Congress will not keep quiet. Many politicians from other parties who joined the BJP have become “pure” just after Ganga snan (a bath) and declared themselves “clean”. BJP will be exposed in this election. BJP will definitely be defeated in this election.

You were chief minister of the Union Territory of Puducherry. Kejriwal is the Chief Minister of Delhi, which is the National Capital Territory. Do chief ministers of Union Territories lack power to fight against the Union government?

When I was a chief minister (2016-21) elected by the people, the BJP government brought in Kiran Bedi as Lieutenant Governor to create problems for my government.

Similarly, in Tamil Nadu, the governor, who has no authority, keeps on questioning the elected government. The BJP government is violating the Constitution. He is targeting political rivals, for which people will teach lesson in this election.