Told to join BJP or get arrested along with 3 other AAP leaders: Atishi
Atishi claimed that she has been told the ED would conduct raids at her residence and that of her relatives in the coming days
Delhi minister Atishi has claimed that the BJP, approaching her through someone very close to her, had asked her to join the saffron party or be prepared to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within a month.
Making the revelation at a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday (April 2), the AAP leader claimed that besides her three other AAP leaders would be arrested as well. They include Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLA Durgesh Pathak, and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
Atishi claimed that she has been told the ED would conduct raids at her residence and that of her relatives in the coming days.
“Rattled by rally”
She asserted that the BJP was rattled by the success of the INDIA bloc’s Ramlila Maidan rally on Sunday and had realised that sending Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to jail would not lead to the disintegration of the AAP.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped excise policy of his government, was on Monday sent to judicial custody till April 15 by a city court.
ED’s claim in court
While producing him in court on Monday, the agency reportedly claimed that Kejriwal had said former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, also an accused in the case, reported to Atishi and Bhardwaj and not him, and that his “interaction with Nair was limited”.
Nair has reportedly claimed that he stayed in a bungalow allotted to Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot and worked from Kejriwal’s office.
The AAP has accused the BJP of wanting to impose President's rule in Delhi by poaching its legislators and breaking the party. The AAP's Kirari MLA Rituraj Jha claimed he was offered Rs 25 crore to join the saffron party.
(With agency inputs)
