New Delhi:  Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh on Tuesday delivered the Delhi Chief Minister’s new message from Tihar Jail: “My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist”.

The Court said it is extending custody until April 23

Singh delivered this message from the AAP supremo following his meeting with Punjab CM Bhagwat Mann on Monday in the Tihar Jail complex.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Sanjay Singh stated: “Arvind Kejriwal, who worked like a son and a brother for the country and the people of Delhi, has sent a message from jail that ‘My name is Arvind Kejriwal and I am not a terrorist’…The three-time elected CM of Delhi is made to meet CM Bhagwant Mann through a glass. It is clear from this that the Prime Minister has a feeling of hatred against Arvind Kejriwal…”

Sanjay Singh also claimed that efforts are being made 24 hours to demoralise Arvind Kejriwal. “This is Arvind Kejriwal, he is made of a different clay… The more you try to break him, the stronger he will come back…Yesterday, CM Bhagwant Mann became emotional during the meeting. This is an emotional matter for all of us but it is a matter of shame for BJP and PM Modi,” the AAP MP alleged.

The Rouse Avenue court on Monday extended the judicial custody of AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal till April 23, 2024. The Delhi CM attended the court session via video conferencing. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also issued notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on a plea by Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the agency and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.

A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta refused to give an early hearing of the case as sought by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Kejriwal. Kejriwal, who was arrested on the night of March 21, was produced virtually before Special Judge Kaveri Baweja of the Rouse Avenue Courts on the expiry of his judicial custody.

The Court said it is extending custody until April 23, when judicial custody of the co-accused (BRS leader K Kavitha) is also ending. Earlier, AAP leader Kejriwal approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court judgement that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.

On April 9, the High Court dismissed his plea for release from jail and rejected his argument of political vendetta amid the looming Lok Sabha elections. The High Court had said that Kejriwal’s absence from nine ED summons over six months undermined any claims of special privilege as Chief Minister, suggesting his arrest was an inevitable consequence of his non-cooperation.