The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday hit out at the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after its remarks that Arvind Kejriwal will not resign as Delhi chief minister and run the government from jail, saying gangs are run from the prison.

“Those who are repeatedly saying they will run the government from jail, remember – we have seen gangs being run from jail and not the government,” BJP Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said.

Tiwari accused Kejriwal of looting Delhi and claimed people of the national capital distributed sweets after his arrest.

“He has given his life to bring Delhi to the brink of misery. The people of Delhi are very angry with him and that’s why sweets were distributed after his arrest. His government has done no work in Delhi and they have only looted and filled their pockets. Kejriwal has looted Delhi,” he said.

Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday night in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

The AAP national convenor has been sent to ED custody till March 28 after the probe agency accused him of being the kingpin behind the alleged scam.

Kejriwal’s party has denied any wrongdoing and termed his arrest a BJP conspiracy ahead of Lok Sabha elections to stop him from campaigning.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal has issued a video statement reading out her jailed husband’s message.

“My dear countrymen, I have been arrested. Whether I am inside the jail or not, I will continue to serve the country. My entire life is dedicated to the country. I have struggled a lot in my life, and I know that this will continue. Therefore, this arrest has not surprised me,” said Ms Kejriwal, quoting her jailed husband.

She further called upon the people of the country to identify the forces that were trying to weaken India and defeat them.

“There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. We have to be alert, identify these forces and defeat them…Women in Delhi must be thinking that Kejriwal is behind bars. Who knows if they would get Rs 1000. I appeal to them to trust their brother, their son. There is no jail that can keep him behind bars for long. I will come out soon and keep my promise…,” she read out the message.