Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, alleging that he wants to crush the Aam Aadmi Party using agencies like the ED and CBI against its leaders. Kejriwal made the claims after AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan, whose premises were raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday, met with him at his residence here.
The opposition BJP in Delhi responded to Kejriwal’s charges, alleging that both his government and his party are “inundated” with corruption. The ED raided Khan’s premises in Delhi as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some other people. The searches were undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and three-four premises were covered, official sources said.
Talking to reporters after the meeting with the MLA, Kejriwal said, “This is not the only incident where PM Modi has directed the raids on the residence of AAP leaders. Since, the AAP government was formed in Delhi, PM Modi is trying to eliminate AAP with all his might.” “In 2016, the Centre constituted the Shunglu Committee. The Shunglu Committee asked for 400 files, and top officials inspected them thoroughly, yet they did not find corruption of a single penny,” the chief minister said. The AAP national convener claimed that after this, AAP MLAs were “framed” in “fabricated cases”.
“So far, 170 cases have been filed against AAP MLAs, and judgments in 140 cases have been pronounced, all against the central government. All these judgements unequivocally stated that fabricated cases have been filed and arrests have been made against the AAP MLAs,” he said. Kejriwal also alleged that in the last two years, senior AAP leaders and ministers have been arrested. He was referring to former ministers Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh.
“The central government arrested Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh, and yesterday, they orchestrated an ED raid on Amanatullah Khan’s residence. Yesterday’s raid at Amanatullah Khan’s residence is also a step towards Modiji’s scheme of things to curb the AAP. So far, corruption involving a single rupee has not been found in any cases,” he asserted. “If they would have found it, would they have spared Arvind Kejriwal? They didn’t find anything,” the chief minister added.
Reacting to the chief minister’s allegations, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva claimed, “Delhi has seen governments of both the BJP and the Congress but none of the governments did corruption and nepotism as is being done by the Kejriwal government. Arvind Kejriwal claims that the Centre government is victimising his MLAs and ministers through the cases pending in courts. It seems Kejriwal now does not even trust the courts.”
Kejriwal further alleged that there are no inquiries by the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in BJP-ruled states and claimed that the saffron party’s aim was not to end corruption but to trouble opposition leaders.
“In Gujarat, the Morbi bridge collapsed and many people lost their lives, but there wasn’t any ED or CBI raid on the matter. The BJP governments are being spared from any ED or CBI raids. As per the latest CAG report, there have been numerous scams committed under the BJP government, but no ED or CBI raids or summons either. They have waived the loans worth hundreds of crores but no raids or inquiries,” he alleged.
Kejriwal rued the fact that the “atmosphere in the country” has deteriorated. “For the first time, people have started renouncing Indian citizenship while taking citizenship of other countries. This is unprecedented, business and trade are at their worst. Industrialists, business persons, journalists and common people have been intimidated,” he said. “The AAP is still fighting its battle. It’s a party of honest and patriotic individuals, no matter what Modiji does, we are not going to bow down,” he added.
Responding to media questions about Singh’s case, Kejriwal said that the ED should prove the corruption charges in the matter. “I heard that on Tuesday, the ED told the court that they have evidence but won’t show it. If even the ED doesn’t show evidence to the court, who will they show it to? Will the ED keep the evidence at home,” he asked.
Recalling Tuesday’s raid, MLA Khan said the ED conducted a 12-hour raid on his home. “They searched through all my clothes and cupboards. My mother is unwell and has trouble breathing. During the raid, she was given medicines several times. This raid caused a lot of distress to my entire family. My house is 100 square yards and has four rooms. I even showed them my children’s room,” he said.
The legislator said he asked the ED officers if they suspected that he was involved in corruption. “We, members of AAP, want to work, and you are troubling us. I even showed them the beds and there were no hidden possessions. The officers said, ‘What can we do? If we are sent, we have to come.’ During the raid, none of us could even have a meal,” Khan claimed.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – PTI)
