New Delhi:

Lok Sabha elections over, and with it his interim bail, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal surrendered in Tihar jail this evening. His route was circuitous. Starting from his home around 3 pm, he went to Rajghat to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi, then to Hanuman mandir and then party headquarters. The last stop was the jail, which he left 21 days ago after getting interim bail from the Supreme Court.

Speaking to party workers at the Aam Aadmi Party headquarters today, Mr Kejriwal thanked the Supreme Court. He said interim bail had been fruitful.

“I did not waste even one minute of the 21 days. I campaigned for all parties. I campaigned to save the country. The country is important, Aam Aadmi Party is second,” he said, tagging it an “unforgettable” experience.

“The best thing that happened during this campaign was that Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitted that he did not have even an iota of evidence against me,” Mr Kejriwal added. He also accused the Central government of dictatorship, questioning how the Chief Minister of a government that had a sweeping majority could be put in jail without evidence.  

“This is dictatorship. I will put anyone I wish in jail and send a message to the whole country that when I can put Kejriwal in jail, I can put anyone in jail,” he added.

The AAP chief was accompanied by his wife Sunita Kejriwal, and party leaders including Delhi ministers Atishi, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj, Rajya Sabha MPs Sanjay Singh and Sandeep Pathak, and leaders Durgesh Pathak, Rakhi Birla and Reena Gupta.

Mr Kejriwal, accused in the Delhi liquor policy case, has been in jail since April 1 till he got relief from the Supreme Court.

His stay in Tihar was marked by a massive row over his diabetes and medication, with the Chief Minister and his party alleging that the authorities had withheld medication since his arrest. The Enforcement Directorate alleged that Mr Kejriwal ate food that was inappropriate for diabetics.

Mr Kejriwal, who had asked for an extension of his bail on health grounds yesterday but got no immediate relief, said today that he was unsure what sort of treatment he would receive this time.

“I don’t know what these people will do to me… We are disciples of Bhagat Singh, we are going to jail to save the country… When power becomes dictatorship, jail becomes a responsibility,” he added.