 "Delhi chief minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal arrives to appear before the Rouse Avenue Court in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, in New Delhi. File image/PTI")
It’s a Tuesday and expect some big headline-creating events today.
From Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s election rallies to the Delhi High Court’s verdict on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s plea on challenging his arrest, there’s some big news awaiting you.
Delhi High Court to deliver verdict on Kejriwal arrest plea
The Delhi High Court will announce its verdict today in the case of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently in judicial custody over a money laundering case linked to an alleged excise scam, challenging his arrest.
As per the cause list uploaded on the court’s website, a single-judge bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma will pronounce the judgment on 9 April at 2.30 pm.
In addition to contesting his arrest, Kejriwal has also challenged his subsequent remand in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The matter in court stems from Kejriwal arguing that his arrest was intended to disable him from any active role in politics, further impinging on the level-playing field and the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on 21 March after the high court declined to provide him protection from coercive action by the federal anti-money laundering agency.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn 1 April, he was remanded to judicial custody in the case after appearing in the trial court following the expiration of his ED custody. The case revolves around alleged corruption and money laundering in the formulation and execution of the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was subsequently scrapped.
PM Modi in Chennai
As the country gears up for the Lok Sabha polls, PM Modi has begun criss-crossing across the country, campaigning for the BJP. And on Tuesday (9 April), he will visit Tamil Nadu. According to Tamil BJP chief, Annamalai, the PM PM will hold a roadshow in Chennai today and address two public meetings the next day.
The roadshow in Chennai will be held after 6 pm, covering segments of both South Chennai and Central Chennai, he said. Tamilisai Soundararjan is BJP;s South Chennai candidate while Vinoj P Selvam is taking on DMK heavyweight Dayanidhi Maran from Central Chennai.
Elections to 39 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu will be held on 19 April, and the counting of votes taken up on 4 June, at the end of the seven-phase polling across the country.
BJP’s Birender Singh to join Congress
Former Union minister Birender Singh has resigned from the BJP and is likely to join the Congress today (9 April). The move comes nearly a month after his son Brijendra Singh resigned from the Lok Sabha and the saffron party and joined the Grand Old Party.
“I have resigned from the primary membership of the BJP and sent my resignation to party chief J P Nadda. My wife Prem Lata, who remained MLA from 2014-2019, has also quit the party. Tomorrow, we will join the Congress,” PTI quoted him as saying at press conference.
Singh had joined BJP in 2014 in the presence of the then party president Amit Shah, after severing nearly four decade old ties with the Congress.
On 10 March this year, his son Brijendra resigned as MP and joined the Congress citing “compelling political reasons”.
Amit Shah takes election campaign to Assam
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will be in Assam today to lead the BJP’s Lok Sabha election campaign in the northeastern state. Shah is scheduled to attend a campaign gathering for Dibrugarh seat candidate and Minister of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, as soon as he arrives in the state.
Following this, a series of campaign events will be held to support Ranjit Dutta and Pradan Baruah, the candidates from the Sonitpur and Lakhimpur seats, respectively. The Union minister will also address a road show in Tinsukia, hoping to bolster BJP support in advance of the elections.
On this day: Baghdad falls to US forces
On 9 April 2003, three weeks into the invasion of Iraq, US forces pulled down a bronze statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad’s Firdos Square, symbolising the end of the Iraqi president’s long, often brutal reign, and a major early victory for the United States.
Images of the toppled statue and celebrating citizens were instantly beamed around the world. With Hussein in hiding and much of the city now under US control, the day’s events later became known as the Fall of Baghdad.
However, the Iraq War was far from over. Hussein was captured by US forces in December 2003 and executed in December 2006, but the United States would not formally withdraw from Iraq until December 2011, eight years after the conflict first began.