The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said on Monday that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will run the Delhi government from jail in case he is arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Last week, Kejriwal was summoned by the ED for questioning in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the alleged excise policy scam, but the Delhi CM skipped the summons saying it was "politically motivated".
"Arvind Kejriwal will run the Delhi government from jail," Delhi minister Atishi said, adding that the party will ask the court for permission to conduct cabinet meetings in jail.
Atishi also said that Arvind Kejriwal would hold a meeting with party councillors soon.
Kejriwal had earlier called a meeting of AAP MLAs amid a furore over recent actions by central probe agencies against ministers and leaders of the party.
After the meeting, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said all the MLAs present in the meeting told Kejriwal that "if he is arrested, he will continue to be chief minister since he has been given the mandate by the people of Delhi to run the government", news agency PTI reported.
The central agency had summoned Kejriwal for questioning in the alleged Delhi excise policy case and to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA.
Kejriwal's party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case.
Last week, the ED raided Delhi minister Raaj Kumar Anand's residence in a separate money laundering probe.
Delhi liquor policy case
It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.
The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.
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