Delhi LG’s nod to Kejriwal's prosecution raises political heat; AAP calls it 'harassment'
The AAP accused the ED of 'callousness' in investigating the alleged excise policy case, in which several senior leaders from AAP were jailed, including Kejriwal and Sisodia
Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena’s nod to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal in the alleged excise policy case on Saturday (December 21) drew strong protests from the AAP.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) dubbed the move as a joke, coming as it does ahead of Assembly elections in Delhi early next year. It asked the ED to show a copy of the sanction.
According to officials, the ED had, on December 5, sought permission to prosecute Kejriwal, writing to Delhi Chief Secretary Dharmendra in his capacity as Chief Vigilance Officer in this regard.
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Stop rhetoric: Sisodia
Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia alleged that the move was meant to draw attention from Union home minister Amit Shah's trouble over a statement he made on BR Ambedkar in Parliament.
“Stop this rhetoric to distract from the issue of disrespect towards Baba Saheb and show where the ED has been granted approval to prosecute,” Manisha wrote on X.
The ED allegedly found a “huge level of corruption in framing and implementation" of the excise policy, and hence urged Saxena this month for his approval to prosecute former chief minister Kejriwal.
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AAP attacks ED
However, unnamed officials from Saxena’s office were quoted as saying that the permission for the prosecution has been given.
The AAP accused the ED of callousness in investigating the case in relation to which several senior leaders from the party were jailed, including Kejriwal and Sisodia.
“The fact that they are talking about a prosecution sanction almost a year after the filing of the complaint shows the callousness with which the Enforcement Directorate is handling this case,” the party said.
‘Not a penny recovered’
The AAP accused the agency of having “breached every procedural norm” and of harassment in the name of investigation.
“The so-called liquor scam investigation has dragged on for two years, harassing 500 people, filing 50,000 pages of documents, and conducting over 250 raids, not a single penny has been recovered,” the AAP said.“And multiple holes in the case have been highlighted by various court orders in the past years. BJP’s real goal is to crush the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal by any means,” it added.