AAP accuses Centre, Delhi Police of vendetta against its MLAs

Aam Aadmi Party accuses BJP-ruled Centre of using central agencies such as Delhi Police to harass the party and its MLAs in frivolous cases out of political vendetta

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday accused the Centre of acting against its legislators with “political vendetta” as the cases filed against them are “failing” the test in court of law.

Delhi Police arrested Aam Aadmi Party legislator from Okhla Amanatullah Khan, accused in a sexual harassment case, in September. (Raj K Raj/HT File)

Reacting to a HT report ‘Delhi Police struggle to prove charges’, AAP convener of Delhi, Dilip Pandey, said the BJP government is using its central agencies, including the Delhi Police, against the AAP.

“Our MLA Jarnail Singh has recently been cleared by the court. The Delhi Police had declared him Bhagora (absconder). Now, who will take responsibility of the damage done to him (as a public figure)? One after the other, court is questioning police theories in cases against AAP legislators,” said Pandey.

“It shows the police are acting with vendetta. Centre has been using all its agencies to harass AAP and its MLAs in frivolous cases as it has still not been able to digest the defeat at the hands of AAP,” he added.

In the two-year-long uneasy relationship between the AAP government and the city police, which reports to the Centre through the lieutenant-governor, the ruling party in Delhi has consistently accused the police of launching a witch-hunt.

So far, 13 AAP MLAs have been arrested for offences that include molestation, rioting, kidnapping, and forgery. Of the 13, two legislators have been acquitted, while the others are out on bail.

AAP national spokesperson Raghav Chadha said, “While AAP legislators are being wrongly framed, no action is being taken against BJP MPs and members of Modi’s Cabinet who are facing charges of heinous crime.”

A union home ministry official, however, rejected allegations of intervention. “The Union home ministry doesn’t intervene in any probe carried out by the agencies working under it. However the ministry expects that all directions given by the courts are duly complied with by the agency concerned,” said a home ministry spokesman.

BJP national spokesman Nalil Kohli warned that bail in a case should not be treated as a clean chit.

“The proceeding of bail normally have the police demanding custody, for strengthening the cases against the accused. The courts normally tend not to extend custodial interrogation unless the police can bring on records specific reasons justifying so,” he told HT.

“However, bail has nothing to do with what an eventual chargesheet would be. What evidence would be part that chargesheet and the trial process. Unless the police closes the case for lack of evidence,” he said.

Kohli also pointed out that the AAP should concern itself with the gaps in its candidate selection for the Delhi 2015 assembly elections.

“Beyond the legal process, the important thing is shouldn’t Mr Kejriwal hold himself personally accountable for the failure of his so called candidate vetting process, which was supposed to be of highest standards. Now that we have seen ministers with fake degrees, and the comments of Mr Prashant Bhsuhan and Yogendra Yadav, who opposed the sham of Kejriwal candidate selection process, what he is now trying to do is hide behind legal arguments,” Kohli said.

“In this sense Mr Kejriwal once again reconfirms how wide is the gap between what he promises and what he professed and what he actually he has delivered,” the BJP spokesperson said.