Arvind Kejriwal is seen outside a Delhi court on Wednesday. (AFP)
Arvind Kejriwal, the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), spent the night in Delhi's Tihar jail after being arrested in a defamation case. Scores of his party men who protested outside the prison last night were also arrested.(
Delhi court summons Kejriwal in criminal defamation case)
Mr Kejriwal was arrested on Wednesday after he refused to post bail in a case filed by BJP leader Nitin Gadkari. He is likely to remain in jail at least till tomorrow.
After he was taken to jail, some 60 AAP supporters sat on the road outside and clashed with policemen, causing traffic chaos in the west Delhi area. Prohibitory orders were put in place and the protesters were bundled into buses and arrested. Among them were Mr Kejriwal's close aides Yogendra Yadav and Sanjay Singh. They have been released.
Some activists have been released on bail. AAP leader Ashutosh said, "We respect the court order but the high-handedness of cops was not required. We will start a door-to-door campaign to tell people how an honest person like Kejriwal is behind bars."
Mr Kejriwal was summoned by the court on a complaint by Mr Gadkari, who had been named in AAP's list of "India's most corrupt" in January.
The AAP chief was asked to furnish a bail bond of Rs 10,000 but he said he would not do so on principle, as he had not committed any crime.
The AAP criticised the court for sending Mr Kejriwal to jail. "There is no provision in law which makes it mandatory for a defendant against whom a complaint is filed in a defamation case to furnish a bail bond," the party said in a statement.
The Congress and the BJP called Mr Kejriwal's refusal to post bail a "publicity stunt".
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tweeted, "Kejriwal instead of doing NAUTANKI should join me in exposing Gadkari. He has also filed a defamation case in the same Court against me."