Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal walked out of Tihar Jail on Friday, hours after the Supreme Court granted him bail in the excise policy case being probed by the CBI.
Hundreds of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers and senior party leaders, including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, were waiting outside the prison to welcome Kejriwal.
Drenched in rain, Mann, Sisodia raised slogans hailing Kejriwal from atop a truck.
Addressing the crowds from the truck, Kejriwal thanked God, saying it was because he was on the path of truth that God had helped him.
He said he wanted to thank lakhs of people who prayed for him.
"Each part of my body, each drop of blood and my life is dedicated to the country. I have struggled and faced difficulties but God was with me because I was honest and walked on the path of truth," he said.
Warning those who put him in jail, Kejriwal said "they thought they could destroy me, destroy my courage, but my courage has strengthened a hundredfold."
The thick wall of the jail, he said could not break his morale, "I pray to God to show me the way to work for the nation."
Vowing to fight all the anti-national forces hampering India's progress, dividing and weakening it, Kejriwal said he would continue to fight for the country for the rest of his life.
Slogans like "Jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal choot gaye (the locks of prison were broken, Kejriwal was released)", "Bhrastachaar ka ek hi kaal, Kejriwal, Kejriwal (Corruption will be punished by Kejriwal)," rent the air.
Kejriwal came out of Tihar in a car, followed by his security convoy.
The AAP chief was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 26. He has challenged in the apex court the Delhi High Court's August 5 order that upheld his arrest in the corruption case.
On July 12, the apex court granted interim bail to Kejriwal in the money-laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise scam.
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