Indian court extends pre-trial detention of opposition leader Kejriwal until May 7
World
Arvind Kejriwal is a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
INDIA (Reuters) - A Delhi court extended on Tuesday the pre-trial detention of Indian opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal until May 7 in a corruption case, legal news website Live Law reported.
Kejriwal, the chief minister of the national capital territory of Delhi, was arrested last month in connection with graft allegations relating to the city's liquor policy, weeks before general elections.
Kejriwal is a fierce critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and rejects the charges against him and other opposition leaders as politically motivated.
Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deny the accusations and say law enforcement agencies operate independently.
Kejriwal's March 21 arrest sparked protests in Delhi and in the northern state of Punjab governed by his decade-old Aam Aadmi Party, and also drew the attention of the United States and Germany.
His detention has united the 27-party opposition alliance called INDIA, which includes AAP and the Congress party, but opinion polls suggest that BJP has a strong lead over them and is likely to easily win a historic third term.
