Aaditya Thackeray hails Kejriwal's release, takes swipe at Sena rebels

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has welcomed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's release on bail and used the occasion to take a swipe at those who split the Shiv Sena in 2022.

In a post on X, Thackeray on Friday said truth prevails over politics. "Glad to see @ArvindKejriwal ji walk out and ready to fight for democracy and the Constitution again," he said.

"There are coward gaddaars who betray their own and run away, and on the other side there are those like Arvind ji who choose to fight for the truth! Satyamev Jayate!" Thackeray said in the post in a reference to the rebellion led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Shinde brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray in June 2022 and went on to become the chief minister with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also joined his government in July last year.

Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI case linked to the alleged excise policy scam holding that prolonged incarceration amounts to "unjust deprivation of liberty".

Kejriwal, who was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the same case and later by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) which was probing the corruption charges, stepped out after spending 155 days in jail.