ED a political tool: AAP hits out at BJP in Delhi

AAP ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai held back-to-back press conferences a day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal skipped the ED summons

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continued to spar over the Delhi excise policy case, with AAP leaders on Tuesday accusing the BJP of conspiring to get chief minister Arvind Kejriwal arrested before the polls.

Atishi at a press conference on Tuesday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT photo)

AAP ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Gopal Rai separately held back-to-back press conferences at the party headquarters, a day after Kejriwal skipped the ED summons in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Monday. They slammed the BJP by accusing it of misusing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the AAP leaders, and added that though Kejriwal secured bail from the court, the BJP is scheming to get him arrested.

On March 16, a Delhi court granted bail to Kejriwal in connection with two ED complaints filed against him for skipping summons. Kejriwal has so far skipped eight ED summonses in the excise case, calling them illegal and politically motivated.

“ED, which has become a political weapon of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, has alleged that AAP and Kejriwal took bribes of ₹100 crore and indulged in corruption. Similar allegations were made by ED earlier too and the Supreme Court dismissed them. Since the Supreme Court has dismissed ED’s allegations due to lack of evidence, the only reason for reiterating these accusations is to arrest Kejriwal before the Lok Sabha elections,” Atishi said during the press conference on Tuesday morning.

“The PM should refrain from contesting elections by using ED. If you have trust in your 10 years of work, ask for votes based on your performance. Don’t try to remove Kejriwal from the political arena by getting him arrested through the political ED,” Atishi added.

During another press conference, Bharadwaj referred to a press release, which was issued by ED on March 17. The release said that ED has arrested K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and daughter of former Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao, in the Delhi excise policy scam and added that she was involved in paying ₹100 crore to the AAP leaders. However, Bharadwaj dismissed the ED’s charges, saying that the agency has not been able to produce any evidence of illegal funds, illegal assets, or benami properties.

“Until now, the BJP was claiming that the alleged liquor scam was of thousands of crores. But over time, the ED has revised its statement to confirm that the transactions were of ₹100 crore in this case. However, it has not presented any evidence of financial transactions in this matter,” Bharadwaj said.

Referring to an order issued by Justice Sanjeev Khanna of the Supreme Court on October 30 last year, Bharadwaj said that in the order, the judge clearly said that ED’s allegation of ₹100 crore transaction is somewhat a matter of debate, and the agency has presented no evidence or facts in court.

“Despite the Supreme Court order, the ED is spreading news of a ₹100-crore transaction in this alleged liquor scam. It is unfortunate that a probe agency, which should work independently for everyone, spent the entire day yesterday (Monday) in the central government’s office constructing a negative narrative against political opponents and attempting to defame them,” Bharadwaj added.

In another press conference, Rai said the BJP’s conspiracies have increased ever since Kejriwal was granted bail by a local court.

“Even though the court has adjourned the hearing date till April 1, the BJP is not ready to wait. They are plotting new schemes to get Kejriwal arrested. ED has issued the ninth summons against him despite the ongoing proceedings,” Rai added.

“We (AAP) have always respected the court, and we will keep respecting their directives. We have always challenged the BJP’s conspiracies and will continue to do so. We are not afraid of its conspiracies. They had no evidence then, they have no evidence now. Their cases were fabricated then, and their cases are fabricated today,” said Rai.

“The BJP government at the Centre has imprisoned the AAP leaders, ranked two, three and four, and a conspiracy is being hatched to imprison our number one leader, Kejriwal. He said that if all opposition leaders are imprisoned, then no one will be left to question the Prime Minister, and like Putin and Kim Jong, the BJP will also win in elections. There is a relentless effort by the BJP to put Kejriwal in jail. This is because he is a leader who consistently questions the BJP government at the Centre on issues related to public welfare,” Bharadwaj said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva hit back at the AAP. “As the noose of the law is getting tightened around Kejriwal, the frustrated AAP leaders have forgotten that investigative agencies release press statements on crucial developments of every high-profile case. Yesterday, when there was significant progress in the liquor scam investigation, the probe agency issued a press statement based on the statement of K Kavita, clearly indicating that there could be significant arrests in this case, but no individual’s name was mentioned,” said Sachdeva.

“The way the entire AAP is creating a political drama over Kejriwal’s possible arrest based on an anonymous statement since yesterday, it is becoming evident that Kejriwal is corrupt and his imprisonment is certain,” Sachdeva said.