Country should be proud of Satyendar Jain; he should be awarded 'Padma Vibhushan': Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal defended Satyendar Jain as a “hardcore patriot and honest person” who was being framed in a “false case” and hoped the Minister will come out clean after the Enforcement Directorate probe.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 1 said Satyendar Jain, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, should be awarded the Padma Vibhushan for giving the 'mohalla clinics' model that treats people free of charge.

Mr. Kejriwal defended Mr. Jain as a “hardcore patriot and honest person” who was being framed in a “false case” and hoped the Minister will come out clean after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe. “The country should be proud of him as he gave the model of Mohalla Clinic that are being visited by people from the world, including (former) Secretary General of the UN. He gave a health model that treats people free of cost. I think, he should be given top awards like the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan," Mr. Kejriwal told reporters in New Delhi.

Noting that the CBI gave clean chit to Mr. Jain, the Delhi CM said now the ED can also conduct its probe and the Minister will come out clean. Mr. Jain holds various portfolios, including Health, Power and Home, in the Arvind Kejriwal government.

Mr. Jain was on Tuesday sent to Enforcement Directorate's custody till June 9 in a money-laundering case by a court in New Delhi which noted that his interrogation was required to unearth the alleged larger conspiracy. The ED had on Monday arrested the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Asserting that the charges levelled against Jain were "completely false", Mr. Kejriwal had earlier said he himself would have taken action against the Minister if there was even one percent truth in the charges against him. Senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had alleged that Mr. Jain was arrested because he was made in-charge of AAP in Himachal Pradesh where the BJP was fearing defeat in the upcoming elections.