Celebrations erupted outside as senior AAP leaders and workers gathered to welcome their party supremo and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, who in his first remarks after stepping out, said that he will continue to fight "anti-national" forces working to weaken the nation, and asserted the incarceration has only strengthened his resolve.
"Some people in the country, anti-national forces want to weaken the country, want to divide the country. Today judges are being threatened. Attempts are being made to weaken the Election Commission. We have to fight against this. My fault is not that I have committed corruption, my fault is that I have spoken against such anti-national forces. I will continue to fight against such forces," Kejriwal said, who received a resounding welcome by his party leaders and supporters.
Hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the Delhi excise policy case, Kejriwal stepped out of the jail and addressed party workers from the sunroof of a vehicle while raising slogans of 'Inquilab Zindabad' and 'Vande Mataram'.
"I want to thank people who prayed for my release. You have braved rain to come here and I am thankful to you. Every drop of my blood is dedicated in the service of my nation. In my entire life, I have faced difficulties but the God has always been with me," he said, stressing that the jail time has strengthened his resolve.
"They put me in jail to break me but my resolve has only grown stronger. Jails cannot break me. I will continue my fight against anti-national forces," he said.
Kejriwal also held a roadshow near Chandgiram Akhara in Civil Lines where scores of aap supporters and workers gathered and raised party flags and banners with ‘Satyam Jayate’ written on it.
Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and senior party leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, were waiting outside the prison to welcome Kejriwal. Drenched in rain, Mann, Sisodia raised slogans from atop a truck hailing Kejriwal.
Earlier, celebrations also erupted outside the AAP headquarters with jubilant AAP leaders and workers seen distributing sweets and raising slogans like "Aa gaye bhai aa gaye, Kejriwal aa gaye" and "jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal chooth gaye".
Several AAP leaders including Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and workers gathered outside the party headquarters and burst crackers to celebrate the release of their party supremo.
They were also seen dancing to the beats of 'dhols' outside the headquarters.
Outside the chief minister's residence, Kejriwal's wife, Sunita Kejriwal, who became active in politics after his arrest, along with senior AAP leaders were seen celebrating the bail. "BJP's plans have been foiled. They wanted to put opposition leaders behind the bars to stay in power," Sunita Kejriwal said.
Sisodia stated that Kejriwal was not arrested for any wrongdoing or corruption. "The BJP could not win the elections against us and could not break our party, so they orchestrated this arrest as a form of insurance, hoping that by imprisoning Kejriwal, they would cause our party to crumble and their government to fall,” he said.
Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh asserted that after Kejriwal’s release, they will participate strongly in the assembly elections of Haryana and Delhi. Further, Bharadwaj demanded the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “After the decision of the Supreme Court, if there is even an iota of integrity left within the Central Government, the Union Home Minister should resign, because the CBI comes under the Home Ministry. The court has clearly said that the central agency is working with malice and deceit,” affirmed the Delhi Minister.