NEW DELHI: Ahead of his appearance before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday alleged that the BJP might have ordered the probe agency to arrest him and said they are “very powerful and can send anyone to jail”.

In a five-minute video message on Twitter, Mr Kejriwal said, he would truthfully and honestly answer questions posed by the CBI in the excise case as he has nothing to hide.

“I have been summoned by the CBI today and I will give all the answers with honesty. These people are very powerful. They can send anyone to jail, it does not matter if that person has committed any crime or not,” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader said.

“Since yesterday, all of their leaders are screaming at the top of their voices that Kejriwal will be arrested and I think BJP has instructed CBI also that Kejriwal should be arrested. If BJP has given an order, then who is CBI? The CBI is going to arrest me,” he said.

“I love the country and Bharat Mata, can sacrifice my life for the country,” he added.

Mr Kejriwal was questioned for nearly nine hours by the CBI on Sunday in connection with a liquor policy case and will be accompanied to the agency’s office by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann and cabinet colleagues.

“The CBI asked me a total of 56 questions. Everything is fake. The case is fake. I am convinced they don’t have anything on us, not a single piece of evidence,” NDTV quoted him as he saying after reaching home from the CBI headquarters.

The Hindu said Mr Kejriwal is being summoned as a witness and is not an accused in the case in which his former deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia was arrested by CBI on Feb 26.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2023