Congress leader says Kejriwal's bail will have no impact on Haryana polls

New Delhi, Sep 13 (IANS) Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday said bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will have no impact on the Haryana Assembly elections.

"Bail and elections are two different things. It's just a procedure of the court. The government took action, remanded him, and jailed him. Now, like any Indian citizen, he went to court, and the court granted him bail. This has nothing to do with the Haryana elections; it’s a separate issue. His bail will have no significant impact on Haryana polls," Bajwa said.

"The court has made a decision, and I find the observations they made very serious. My humble request to the court is to be a little more proactive and timely. Whether today's Supreme Court observation will affect them or not, time will tell." said the Congress leader.

"If the court intervenes immediately and is proactive, the misuse of all their agencies will be stopped completely," he added.

Earlier in the day, in a major relief to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the corruption case linked to the alleged liquor policy scam. Apart from allowing Kejriwal’s bail plea, Justice Surya Kant, heading a two-judge bench dismissed his distinct plea challenging the legality of arrest by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the alleged liquor scam. The other judge, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, authored a separate opinion raising serious questions on the timings of arrest by the CBI and held the "belated arrest" by the central agency to be unjustified.

Congress and AAP, despite initial talks for a pre-poll alliance in Haryana, have announced separate lists of candidates for the 90-member Assembly.

Apart from commenting on CM Kejriwal's bail impact, Congress leader Bajwa also commented on the "death threats" given to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.

"This is not only a concern for Congress, but for all parties that believe in democracy and the Constitution. An elected LoP, who holds a Cabinet rank and whose family has already suffered a lot, is openly threatened by a BJP leader, and even after two days no action has been taken by the government against this individual," he said.

"It is an indirect threat, not directly made by the party but indirectly endorsed. The Delhi leader who made these remarks was made to say them by the BJP. If no action has been taken, it proves that this was orchestrated by the government," Bajwa added.