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Arvind Kejriwal, whose campaign against corruption in 2011 birthed the Aam Aadmi Party and paved the way for his ascension as Delhi’s Chief Minister, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate late on Thursday in connection with the Delhi excise policy case. He became the first serving Chief Minister to be arrested, after months of skipping summons by the investigation agency.
Although AAP has stressed that Kejriwal will continue functioning as the Delhi CM from jail it is easier said than done. For Kejriwal to remain CM, he would need some respite from courts. We break down the challenges ahead for him and his party.
From Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK leader M K Stalin, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, a range of Opposition leaders have severely criticised the BJP-led Central government over the move. We take a look at the reactions from the Opposition bloc.
For the BJP, however, it feels that with Kejriwal out of the picture, AAP will crumble, INDIA bloc will lose a star campaigner and it will also take sting out of Opposition’s attacks against the Modi govt.
Pushed and prodded by the Supreme Court, the State Bank of India, which had sought time until June 30, revealed telling data on electoral bonds on Thursday — from donor details to parties that redeemed the bonds, including the unique alphanumeric codes that link donors to beneficiaries. We take a deep dive to break it down.
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The largest electoral bonds donor, Coimbatore-based lottery company Future Gaming and Hotel Services Pvt Ltd, saw a large chunk of its purchases redeemed by two political parties, with Trinamool Congress leading as its biggest beneficiary at Rs 542 crore, followed by the DMK at Rs 503 crore.
The No. 1 donor to the Congress was the Megha Group’s Western UP Power Transmission Company Limited which contributed Rs 110 crore via electoral bonds. The group’s Megha Engineering and Infrastructure Limited was also the highest donor to the BJP with Rs 529 crore — it was the second largest purchaser of electoral bonds, spending Rs 1,192 crore. We break down the electoral bonds data
While many companies that donated to parties using electoral bonds also used the electoral trust route, there are some among the top 10 donors through trusts over the past five years who did not opt for the bonds that gave anonymity. We take a look at such companies.
From the Front Page
A day after the Centre notified a Fact Checking Unit under the Press Information Bureau to identify fake news about the government, the Supreme Court stayed the operation of the notification until the Bombay High Court takes a final decision on petitions challenging the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology Rules.
The trail of a limited edition baseball cap that a man wore while planting an improvised explosive device at The Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru on March 1 has yielded vital clues about the suspect involved in the blast that left nine people injured. We report.
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It was sometime on Thursday morning that MS Dhoni, in his typical style, broke the news to the Chennai Super Kings management after shocking his teammates over the breakfast table. After that meeting, Dhoni is understood to have dialled the franchise management, informing of his decision to hand over the captaincy to Ruturaj Gaikwad, a player CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan said was being groomed for the role for the last two years.
On March 3, in an unprecedented move, the former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Abhijit Gangopadhyay resigned from his office and joined the BJP, raising questions of propriety and judicial independence. In an interview to The Indian Express, the former judge says he is “not yet a politician” but only a “simple political worker” of the BJP. Read more.
And Finally…
Amid hectic poll parleys, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan took time out Wednesday to promote Odia cuisine. Don’t miss today’s Delhi Confidential for more!
In the latest episode of our ‘3 Things’ podcast, we discuss the double murder case from Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district; IPL vs Ranji Trophy; and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED. Tune in!
Until tomorrow,
Ayesha Jain and Rounak Bagchi
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