The Aam Aadmi Party claimed today that there are apprehensions that the Enforcement Directorate, or ED, will arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 2 after questioning him in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
Delhi's ruling party also alleged that the BJP is trying to finish it off by jailing its top leaders.
Arvind Kejriwal has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to sources, the ED will record his statement once he deposes at the probe agency's Delhi office at 11 am on November 2.
This is the first time that Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case in April.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Delhi Minister Atishi claimed the BJP is using these tactics to target the AAP as the party knows that it cannot defeat Arvind Kejriwal in the elections.
"According to various sources, the ED will arrest Arvind Kejriwal and put him in jail on November 2. Today, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to eliminate the Aam Aadmi Party. This is why, one after another, AAP leaders are being arrested in false cases and sent to jail," she said.
Atishi said Mr Kejriwal will be arrested not because there is a case or any evidence against him but because he has spoken out against the BJP.
"He will be arrested only because Prime Minister Modi is afraid of him. They know that if there is one leader in this country who openly speaks against the BJP and fights against the party, it is Arvind Kejriwal. Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, he has been most troubled by one person and that is Arvind Kejriwal," she said.
In 2015, the BJP had been winning one state election after another but Arvind Kejriwal managed to confine the BJP to just three seats in Delhi, while the AAP won 67 of the 70 seats, she said.
In 2020 again, Atishi said, the BJP put all its efforts into the Delhi elections, fielding its leaders and creating a charged atmosphere across the country.
"However, the people of Delhi showed their love for their son Arvind Kejriwal, and made him the chief minister of Delhi once more.
"When the MCD elections came, the BJP knew that the people of Delhi would elect Arvind Kejriwal and throw the BJP out of the MCD. They delayed the MCD elections, imposed restrictions, and conducted elections along with the Gujarat elections. However, despite all this, the people of Delhi still elected Arvind Kejriwal in the MCD elections," she said.
Referring to the arrest of the AAP's top leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendar Jain, Atishi claimed it only means that the BJP wants to "finish off the AAP".
Mr Jain has been granted interim bail in a money laundering case.
"After Arvind Kejriwal is arrested, the BJP will target other leaders of the INDIA bloc and its Chief Ministers using the CBI and the ED.
"Next they will target Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren since they have been unable to defeat him. Then they will target Tejashwi Yadav since they have not been able to break the alliance in Bihar. Then Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin will be targeted," Atishi claimed.
"I want to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are not afraid of going to jail nor are they afraid of false cases. They will fight till the last breath to protect the Constitution of this country," she said.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed Atishi's views and asserted the party has only grown stronger in the face of opposition.
"The BJP fears Mr Kejriwal's popularity and honesty. Every time an attempt is made to end the AAP, it emerges stronger with double force.
"In the history of Independent India, the AAP has been the most-preyed-upon party by the Centre. Approximately, 170 fabricated cases have been registered against the AAP and its leaders. Forty-eight of these fabricated cases are registered against Sanjay Singh alone by the Uttar Pradesh government and the BJP's other governments. Dozens of cases have also been registered against Mr Kejriwal," he claimed.
Addressing a press conference, the AAP's Delhi state convener Gopal Rai said the AAP will keep working for the common man.
"Liquor policy is just an excuse. The BJP's goal is to eliminate the AAP. If it were only about the liquor policy, there wouldn't have been CBI raids at Chief Minister's office before and the Shunglu Committee wouldn't have scrutinised every single file. In the liquor policy case, even the CBI had called Arvind Kejriwal and he answered all their questions," he added.
Gopal Rai also said the BJP's ouster is certain in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"I want to tell the people of Delhi that we will confront their tyranny head-on and continue development work in Delhi," he said.
AAP MLA Dilip Pandey said they are disciples of Bhagat Singh and are ready to sacrifice their lives but will not bow before the BJP.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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