AAP links ED raids on Sanjay Singh to Lok Sabha elections; BJP hits back

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate raids on Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh in connection with the alleged liquor scam triggered a war of words between the Delhi's ruling party and the BJP. Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal led the AAP attack and said the BJP was resorting to desperate measures as it stares at a defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. The BJP reacted strongly and countered Kejriwal calling him the "kingpin" of the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam.

Reacting to the ED raids, Arvind Kejriwal said, "They have been probing the alleged liquor scam for the last year but nothing has been found yet. Nothing will be found at Sanjay Singh's residence. When someone is staring at defeat, they resort to desperate measures. That is what is happening right now."
"ED, CBI, I-T and police – all the agencies will become active as the elections come closer. Yesterday, it was journalists and today, it is Sanjay Singh. Many such raids will happen. But there is no need to be scared," he added.
'Handcuffs not far away'
The BJP unleashed a blistering counter offensive against the AAP and accused Kejriwal of being the "kingpin" of the alleged liquor policy scam. The safforn party also warned that "handcuffs" were getting closer to the Delhi chief minister in the case.
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed that Dinesh Arora, one of the accused in the Delhi excise policy case, had told the probe agency that he had paid a bribe of Rs 32 lakh by cheque to Kejriwal at his residence in the presence of Sanjay Singh.
"Arora has admitted that he paid Rs 32 lakh as a bribe to Kejriwal by a cheque on being asked by Sanjay Singh at the meeting to pay for the party fund," Bhatia claimed.
"Handcuffs are getting closer to Arvind Kejriwal… I dare Kejriwal to hold a press conference and clarify if he has not received a bribe of Rs 32 lakh by cheque from Arora," the BJP leader added.
The Delhi unit of the party staged a protest outside the AAP’s office demanding the resignation of Arvind Kejriwal. Hundreds of Delhi BJP workers and leaders gathered outside AAP’s office near ITO and demanded Kejriwal’s resignation.
'Targeted for raising Adani issue'
The AAP, meanwhile, also alleged that the ED had “targeted” Sanjay Singh as the party MP had raised issues related to the Adani group in Parliament.
"Sanjay Singh kept on raising questions on the issue of Adani and this is why the raids are being conducted at his residence. The Central agencies found nothing earlier and won't find anything today either. First, they conducted raids at the residence of some journalists yesterday and today, raids conducted at Sanjay Singh's residence," AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said.
AAP leader and Delhi MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj said the charges against Sanjay Singh were fictitious.
"This is such a fictitious scam in which investigation is going on for the last 15 months. ED and CBI have conducted raids in at least 1000 places but not even Rs 1 has been recovered from anywhere. They will not get anything at the residence of Sanjay Singh as well. BJP is losing the elections, this is the truth..." Bhardwaj said.

Taking a dig at the ED raids, he said "ED will be present there from morning till evening, they will say they have seized mobile phones, laptops and have found evidence. This is their modus operandi. But the reality is that they will actually find nothing. It is a desperate effort by BJP govt to ensure they come to power again."
'Aur Adhik Paap'
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla took a jibe at AAP saying "AAP means 'Aur Adhik Paap'."

"The evil acts of Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP party in the liquor scam are coming out day by day," Poonawalla said, adding, "Rather than giving report cards on the liquor scam case they are playing the victimhood card."
"Sanjay Singh has direct connections with Dinesh Arora and he only introduced Manish Sisodia to Dinesh Arora. If this is vendetta politics as the AAP party is claiming, then why is the Congress party supporting this proceeding," he added.
'Height of dictatorship'
Several INDIA parties came out in support of AAP and targeted the BJP for vendetta politics.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut called the ED raids "the height of dictatorship."
"Sanjay Singh is an MP and has been a fearless journalist. He asks questions and because of asking questions, he has been expelled from the Parliament. Raids are being conducted in his house," Sanjay Raut said.
"Raids are conducted on us, it happens in Maharashtra, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand but why are there no raids in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Assam and others where they (BJP) are in power? If you want information, we will give you information about where the scams are taking place. The way the raids are going on at Sanjay Singh's house, I feel that this is the height of dictatorship," he added.
RJD MP Manoj Jha alleged that this kind of raids will continue to happen till the general election in 2024.
"It is sad, but not surprising. Now this series will continue till the election. PM Modi and Amit Shah have made the formal announcement for the 2024 elections. Yesterday, a raid was on NewsClick and all the journalists, today on Sanjay Singh," Manoj Jha said.
He further added, "We know that you will do this, but we want to say one thing the pot is full and it's about to burst but they have damaged the character of these agencies (ED and CBI)."
Congress also supports AAP
Interestingly, the Congress which does not share the best of the ties with the AAP, also came out in support of Kejriwal's party.
"This (BJP) government is adopting a dictatorial attitude and creating an atmosphere of coercion, repression, fear and terror against leaders from the opposition, especially the INDIA alliance," Tiwari said.
"The way the raids are being conducted at Sanjay Singh's residence is condemnable. They should bring forth credible evidence that points to him before the public. He could have been called through summon, through court. Harassing Parliamentarians like Sanjay Singh is condemnable," the Congress leader added.
What are ED charges against Sanjay Singh?
The ED chargesheet mentions Sanjay Singh's name and states that Dinesh Arora, a middleman, had claimed that he had met the AAP leader during a party in his restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.
The chragesheet quotes Dinesh Arora and says in 2020 Singh requested him to ask restaurant owners to generate funds for the Aam Aadmi Party for the Delhi assembly elections. Dinesh Arora claimed that he gave a cheque of Rs 82 lakh for the funds.
According to the chargesheet, Dinesh Arora said in his statement that another accused Amit Arora wanted help in shifting his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampura. He managed this through Singh who told the then deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and the matter was resolved by the excise department.
Dinesh Arora also said he met chief minister Arvind Kejriwal once at his residence with Singh while he had spoken to Sisodia five-six times, the chargesheet stated.
(With inputs from agencies)