Kejriwal Claims Political Pressure in Jain Arrest; BJP Cites DJB Scam

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged that the arrest of party leader Satyendar Jain was carried out under political pressure, triggering a sharp political confrontation over an alleged Delhi Jal Board scam.

Rejecting Kejriwal's claims, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that Jain was involved in a scam in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and maintained that investigating agencies were simply doing their job.

Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra accused AAP functionaries of playing the political victim card while investigations and arrests were taking place regarding their misdeeds in the city. Malhotra termed the DJB the biggest centre of financial irregularities under the erstwhile Kejriwal administration, adding that Kejriwal himself could possibly face jail once the full investigation report emerges.

Earlier in the day, the AAP chief posted on social media platform X regarding the circumstances of the arrest. Kejriwal claimed that an Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) official had revealed the agency had no plan to arrest Jain until Tuesday morning, after which a direct call came in the afternoon ordering the action.

In a subsequent post, Kejriwal questioned the rationale behind the arrest, noting that an individual is typically arrested when authorities need to conduct questioning and investigation. He pointed out that the police did not take Jain into custody, asserting this demonstrated that investigators had no need to question him.

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also addressed the development, describing the arrest of Jain, who serves as AAP's Punjab unit co-in-charge, as an act of panic linked to the 2027 assembly elections. Singh claimed the BJP was attempting to suppress AAP and win the Punjab polls by using every means available.