Kejriwal will come out of jail mentally stronger, says Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann | Latest news from India

New Delhi: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national coordinator Arvind Kejriwal would soon be released from jail and was mentally stronger as federal authorities had no evidence against him or any other party leader.

Mann, who met senior AAP politician and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in Delhi on Friday, also said that the AAP is the future of the country.

Kejriwal has been in custody since March 21 after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation on June 26 in connection with the alleged irregularities in the excise policy case.

Sisodia, a senior politician and former deputy chief minister of Delhi, walked out of Tihar Jail on August 9, 17 months after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the alleged corruption and money laundering cases.

Attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mann said they tried to break the AAP but failed. “As always, the BJP has tried to break the party and instill fear in it. I am happy to say that the AAP has remained united and there are no fissures in the party… We are cut from different cloths and come from apolitical backgrounds. We do not have a culture of pulling each other down. The party will be stronger with the sacking of Manish Sisodia. Arvind Kejriwal will also emerge mentally stronger and the AAP is the future of the country,” Mann said while talking to reporters after his meeting with the AAP leader.

“Today is Arvind Kejriwal's birthday; I also met Sunita Kejriwal (wife of Delhi Chief Minister). I believe just like Sanjay Singh (AAP Rajya Sabha MP) and Manish Sisodia came out and broke the wall of their (BJP) dictatorship… Arvind Kejriwal will also come out of jail,” Mann said.

Sisodia, meanwhile, praised the work of the AAP government in Punjab. “It was a great pleasure for me to meet the popular Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Bhagwant Mann Ji today. During the conversation, he said that after Delhi, Punjab is now also becoming a strong partner in Arvind Kejriwal's education revolution. When one sees the development taking place in the state, one feels proud that the reins of Punjab are in the hands of Mann Saheb,” he said in a post on X.

“He (Sisodia) became a victim of the dictatorship and remained in jail for over one and a half years. When they found nothing (evidence) against him, we were relieved and ultimately the truth prevailed. We pray for his good health and hope that he can go back to work to give a bright future to the children of Delhi,” Mann said.

The AAP came to power in Delhi in February 2020, and with the current government still six months to go, Sisodia is likely to join the Delhi cabinet. The AAP leadership has said that Sisodia's induction will be decided after consultation with Kejriwal and senior party leaders.

On AAP's participation in the Haryana assembly elections, Mann said that since AAP is a national party, it will participate in all elections.