AAP MP Sanjay Singh walks out of jail, meets Sunita Kejriwal
New Delhi, Apr 3: A day after being granted bail by the Supreme Court in the Delhi excise case, AAP MP Sanjay Singh walked out of Tihar jail on Wednesday and said it was not the time to celebrate but struggle hoping that other jailed party leaders will also come out soon.
After his release, Singh left for Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence where he met his wife Sunita Kejriwal.
In a video shared by the Aam Aadmi Party, Singh is seen touching the feet of Sunita Kejriwal when he met her.
Singh had been lodged in the high-security prison here since October 13, 2023. He came out at 8.11 pm through the gate number three.
Jail officials said he was released after the completion of bail procedure.
A large number of AAP supporters assembled outside the jail and raised the slogans of "dekho dekho kaun aaya, sher aaya, sher aaya" and "Sanjay Singh zinadabad".
Wearing white kurta-pajama with brown-colour jacket, the Rajya Sabha member walked out of the jail and was garlanded amidst sloganeering by AAP workers. The rose petals were also showered on him by party workers.
There was a heavy security presence outside the jail in view of his release. Singh climbed atop his vehicle as supporters jostled to greet him.
"Arvind Kejriwal and our leaders have been put behind bars and I am fully confident that 'ye jail ke taale tutenge hamare sare neta chutenge (The locks of jail will break and all our leaders will come out).
"I want to say that this is not the time to celebrate, but struggle," Singh said while addressing party supporters outside the jail.
Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak were also present outside the jail.
Bharadwaj said that the party will continue to struggle.
"Sanjay Singh's words that the time is for struggle not celebrations because leaders of the party including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain are still in jail. Our three leaders are in jail so the party will continue to struggle," he told reporters.
Soon after Singh was released, the AAP in a post in Hindi said, "The lion broke the chains of the dictator and came out."
Later, speaking to reporters, AAP leader Atishi said, "This is the victory of truth. The investigation into the fake excise case has been going on for the last two years. ED and CBI have put hundreds of their officers on the job to find something in this case and conducted raids, but they have not found a single penny of corruption from any leader of the Aam Aadmi Party."
She said that with the release of Sanjay Singh from Tihar jail, the AAP's honesty has come out before the entire country.
The Supreme Court had asked the ED again and again where is the money trail, but the agency did not have any reply that's why it did not oppose Singh's bail plea, the AAP leader said.
Earlier, Singh was admitted to the ILBS Hospital in Vasant Kunj. Around 1.30 pm, after being discharged from the hospital, he was taken back to Tihar jail for completing the bail formalities.
On Tuesday, Singh had gone to ILBS for a regular checkup but got admitted. He got the news of his bail when he was in the hospital.
His wife Anita Singh has said that they will not celebrate his release as other leaders of the AAP, including Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and former minister Satyendar Jain, are still in jail.
यह जश्न का नहीं, जंग का समय है. सभी देशभक्त कार्यकर्ता संघर्ष के लिए तैयार रहें. हमारे क्रांतिकारी साथी @ArvindKejriwal, @msisodia, और @SatyendarJain जेल में हैं. जेल के ताले टूटेंगे, हमारे साथी छूटेंगे!
— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) April 3, 2024
अरविन्द केजरीवाल ज़िन्दाबाद!!!
आम आदमी पार्टी ज़िन्दाबाद!!!
VIDEO | AAP leader Sanjay Singh walks out of Tihar Jail in Delhi. Arrested in October 2023, Singh was granted bail by the Supreme Court on Tuesday in a money laundering case linked to the excise policy case. pic.twitter.com/F2bkSpH0Mm
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 3, 2024
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
