NEW DELHI, June 2: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his family bid adieu to each other on Sunday before he left the CM’s residence to surrender at Tihar jail after his interim bail in the excise policy case ended on June 1.
Kejriwal hugged his children and touched his parents’ feet before leaving in a car for a scheduled visit to the Rajghat and the Hanuman temple at Connaught Place.
He waved a final goodbye to his parents before his car sped alongside a long trail of vehicles carrying AAP leaders who accompanied the chief minister for his surrender.
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Kejriwal’s wife Sunita, son Pulkit and daughter Harshita also accompanied him for his surrender.
Sharing visuals of the family’s last moments together, the AAP wrote in a post on X, “Bharat Mata’s brave son Arvind Kejriwal ji took blessings from his parents and hugged his children before going to jail to save democracy. Kejriwal will not bow down to dictatorship.”
In another post, the party wrote, “It is this feeling that scares the dictator. With a smile on his face, Delhi CM Kejriwal headed towards Rajghat to pay homage to father of the nation, Mahatma Gandhi. Today, Kejriwal ji will go to jail in this fight to save democracy.”
In a display of unity and support, Kejriwal’s family and AAP leaders accompanied the chief minister as he paid homage at Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at the Rajghat and offered prayers at the Hanuman temple in Connaught Place.
Kejriwal later addressed a large gathering of workers and leaders of the AAP before leaving for Tihar jail.
AAP leaders, including Atishi, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak, and party leaders Durgesh Pathak, Rakhi Birla and Reena Gupta were also present.
Patriotic songs and slogans of “Kejriwal Zindabaad” filled the air at the party headquarters.
Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said, “I am going back to jail not because I was involved in corruption but because I raised voice against dictatorship… I campaigned for the Lok Sabha polls to save the country.”
Kejriwal said that the BJP will not form the next government at the Centre, saying the exit polls were “fake” and “mind games” by the BJP.
Several exit polls, which were aired on Saturday evening, predicated a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA. Counting of votes for the Lok Sabha polls will be held on Tuesday.
The address at the party headquarters was summed up with the national anthem and Kejriwal left for Tihar amid a sea of Indian flags.
Minutes before the chief minister’s surrender, security arrangements were beefed up at Tihar jail with heavy police deployment. Traffic was also restricted in the area.
The chief minister surrendered to the Tihar authorities after 21 days of bail granted by the Supreme Court for the election campaign.
He was released from prison on May 10 on an interim bail granted by the apex court in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The bail expired on June 1, the day the seventh and last phase of the general elections was held. (PTI)
