BJP protests outside Tihar jail, demands Kejriwal step down as chief minister

New Delhi: The BJP held a protest outside Tihar jail on Tuesday to demand Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's resignation after a high court verdict upholding his arrest by the CBI in a corruption case stemming from the alleged excise policy scam.

Carrying placards, the protesters raised slogans outside Tihar jail where Kejriwal is lodged.

Delhi High Court on Monday upheld the chief minister's arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam.

The high court also disposed of his bail plea and granted him the liberty to approach the trial court for relief.

Claiming that governance and administration had become paralysed, the BJP's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal should step down immediately rather than insist on running the government from jail after the order.

"No minister of the AAP government is ready to take responsibility for any issue and they are busy shifting the blame on officers. Corruption has risen to new heights and the people of Delhi are being crushed in this messy situation," he charged.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar jail, where he was lodged in judicial custody in a connected money-laundering case filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The chief minister was arrested by the ED on March 21. He was granted bail by the trial court in the money-laundering case on June 20. However, the trial court's order was stayed by the high court.

On July 12, the Supreme Court also granted him interim bail in the money-laundering case.