Arvind Kejriwal should have posted bail: Medha Patkar

BHOPAL: Social activist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Medha Patkar on Wednesday said former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's recent refusal to post bail was not right since the party needed him at the moment. She, however, said there had been several instances where activists involved in various public-interest issues had refused to post bail.

AAP leader Kejriwal was sent to judicial custody by a trial court in Delhi after he refused to furnish a bail bond in a criminal defamation complaint filed against him. Kejriwal was released from custody on Tuesday after he finally agreed to furnish a bail bond.

Talking about AAP's decision to quit the Delhi government in February, Patkar said: "It would have been better if the party had not quit. The decision to quit was not wrong, but we were not able to convey it to the electorate in the right way."

About AAP's lackluster performance in the Lok Sabha polls, Patkar said: "The party is still young and it has performed well. In Delhi its vote share increase compared with the assembly polls. At least it has got four parliamentarians, though from a single state." Patkar herself had lost from Mumbai North-East constituency.

Asked about AAP leader Shazia Ilmi quitting the party, she said: "Shazia was already having some issues with the party pertaining to her candidature for quite some time. Though she lost, I feel she has been a good spokesperson for the party."

Patkar was in the city to meet the state's chief secretary along with a delegation of farmers affected by the Sardar Sarovar project and canals of the Indira Sagar and Omkareshwar dams.