Last Updated: September 28, 2023, 20:54 IST
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said he welcomes the CBI probe while asserting that there is nothing wrong. (Image: PTI/File)
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said the CBI action shows that the prime minister is “nervous” and challenged him to resign if nothing is proven in the CBI preliminary inquiry
Breaking his silence on the CBI action into alleged irregularities in the construction and renovation of the chief minister’s official residence, Arvind Kejriwal said he “welcomes” the probe.
After sending pilgrims off to Ayodhya, Kejriwal said: “This is not the first time this is happening. This shows that pradhan mantri ji is scared. And it is his fear that is showing. Until now, more than 50 inquiries have been conducted.”
This is the first stage of the investigation, which will ascertain if a case can be made out under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The CBI, a couple of days ago, sent a notice to the Delhi government’s public works department asking for all documents pertaining to the construction and renovation of 6, Flagstaff Road – the official residence of Delhi CM.
Expressing confidence that nothing incriminating will be found in the course of the investigation, the AAP convener said: “They have filed more than 33 cases against me and have conducted investigations into each. For eight years, ever since I became the chief minister, investigations have been on and nothing has been found. Now, a new inquiry has been started and I welcome it. Nothing will be found in this as before.”
Caught in a storm of alleged corruption cases, Kejriwal said: “They (the BJP) want to make me bend, to break me. That is not going to happen. They may conduct as many inquiries as possible, I am not going to bend.”
In an indirect reference to the prime minister, he said: “I want to challenge the ‘chauthi pass raja’ today, if nothing is found in this inquiry as in the past ones, will he resign?”
The controversy surrounding the renovation of the CM’s bungalow is only the latest to hit the AAP with former deputy CM Mansih Sisodia, who was arrested on February 26, still in jail. Former health minister Satyendar Jain, who was also jailed on stringent charges of violations under the PMLA, is out on bail on health grounds.
The BJP targeted the CM saying “every section of society that has an interest in governments and policies is shocked at the crimes and corruption of Arivind Kejriwal”. “In the history of Indian politics, if any party has set a record of loot and corruption, then that party is Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party,” BJP MP Manoj Tiwari.
