The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday accused the BJP-led central government of plotting to arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the alleged excise policy scam. This allegation comes just ahead of the Supreme Court hearing on Kejriwal’s bail plea in the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) money laundering case.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh claimed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) might fabricate a case against the Delhi CM to facilitate his arrest. “Sources have informed me that the Centre is conspiring to register a fake CBI case against Arvind Kejriwal and get him arrested by the CBI,” Singh stated. He added, “The entire nation can see this and is standing in solidarity with Arvind Kejriwal.”
केंद्र की भाजपा सरकार ने सीबीआई के साथ मिलकर रची बड़ी साज़िश! pic.twitter.com/C6OLNLA6bQ
— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) June 25, 2024
Last week, the CBI sought permission to interrogate Kejriwal in Tihar Jail, where he was questioned on Monday. On Tuesday, the CBI applied for production warrants before a special court, which were subsequently issued, requiring Kejriwal to appear in court on Wednesday. The agency claims to have discovered new evidence against him.
In a separate development, the Delhi High Court stayed the trial court’s order that had granted bail to Kejriwal in the money laundering case related to the excise policy scam. The High Court described the trial court’s order as “perverse” and criticized it for not properly considering the material presented by the ED.
The trial court had initially granted bail to Kejriwal on June 20, setting his release on a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh. The Delhi excise policy, which was scrapped in 2022 following the lieutenant governor’s directive for a CBI investigation, has been at the center of these allegations. The CBI and ED assert that irregularities were committed during the modification of the policy, with undue favours allegedly extended to license holders.
As the legal battle intensifies, the accusations and counter-accusations are likely to further complicate the political landscape in Delhi.