‘Lordships made themselves part of campaign’: BJP’s Vinay Sahasrabuddhe on SC granting bail to Arvind Kejriwal

When contacted, Sahasrabuddhe told The Indian Express: “The Supreme Court order sets a precedent… so people who are charged will, in future, start filing election nominations. There is also a risk that Kejriwal may tamper with the evidence.”

Sahsasrabuddhe, former Rajya Sabha MP and former president of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), said this was his “personal view.”

Meanwhile, BJP leaders across the country continued their attacks on Kejriwal, saying that he remained an accused and would be back in jail soon.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said, “He has been granted bail for the election campaign till June 1 but what after that? Getting interim bail does not mean that you have been proven innocent… Criminals also come out on parole and then return. Kejriwal campaigned in 2014 and 2019 too. Being inside or campaigning outside makes no difference to polls. It will not affect the elections; BJP will win all seven seats of Delhi…”

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “What bail has he got? It says that you are a thief but you can campaign for one month. No respectable person will accept this bail. Such a person will say – I politely decline. What kind of bail is it that you can go out but have to come back on June 2?”

“We respect the decision of the Supreme Court. But the charges still stand and action will be taken on them,” Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami told reporters.

Said Rajasthan CM Bhajanlal Sharma: “A new chapter of corruption is being written in the country…He had come along with Anna Hazare ji to remove corruption but drowned himself in it…”

Even as the party officially said that the bail order was no relief for Kejriwal, some BJP insiders acknowledge that the interim bail comes just before Delhi goes to polls and this could pose a “political challenge.”

Said a BJP leader: “Kejriwal is not Manish Sisodia, he will play the victim card to the fullest. We have been saying that the charges are serious because AAP leaders were not getting bail, the bail for Sanjay Singh and then Kejriwal doesn’t change that reality.”

An RSS leader discounted the effect of Kejriwal’s release saying “floating voters were very few and the lines have already been drawn on both sides”. Another RSS insider said that the interim bail would send the wrong signal that politicians can “get away with anything”.