NEW DELHI:
ASG SV Raju inadvertently revealed the BJP’s true agenda behind Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest in court, citing the need for his phone password as a reason for extending custody. The Senior AAP Leader and Cabinet Minister in Delhi Government, Ms. Atishi, highlighted this during a press conference, questioning the ED’s demand for CM Arvind Kejriwal’s phone password, which was unused during the period of the excise policy formulation and implementation, as per the ED’s own admission.
The AAP leader affirmed that the BJP is using the ED to know Shri Arvind Kejriwal conversation with INDIA Alliance leaders, and AAP’s media and social media plans, communication strategies, surveys in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, and Assam, where the party is contesting. She asserted that the ED’s actions are politically motivated and aim to disrupt the upcoming elections rather than conduct a genuine investigation. Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, she concluded, is a tactic to impede the Aam Aadmi Party’s electoral endeavors.
Senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Atishi said that during the debate over Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s remand in the Rouse Avenue Court yesterday, ED’s lawyer ASG SV Raju inadvertently revealed the real motive of the ED in front of the court and the whole world. Yesterday, ASG Raju said in court that they need to keep Shri Arvind Kejriwal in custody for a few more days because he has not disclosed the password of his phone.
She said that this is the same ED that had stated a few days ago that the phone Shri Arvind Kejriwal had during the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy was not found by the ED. That phone is not with Shri Arvind Kejriwal.
Ms Atishi said that the Excise Policy 2021 was formulated and implemented between November 2021 and August 2022. More than 1.5 years have passed between August 2022 and Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the ED. The ED itself states that the seized phone of Arvind Kejriwal is just months old.
“So I want to ask the ED why they want to examine a phone that is only a few months old when they know that it is not the phone used during the policy period?” the Delhi cabinet minister asked.
She said, “What is there in Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s phone that the ED wants to see today? It is neither related to any investigation nor can it be related to the formulation of the excise policy.”
Ms Atishi said, “What will the ED find in Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s phone which is a few months old? They will find the strategy for contesting Lok Sabha elections. They will find out conversations with leaders of the INDIA Alliance on this phone. Additionally, they will find the surveys of the 23 seats where the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting and the entire campaign plan. The communication, media, and social media plans of the Aam Aadmi Party for the Lok Sabha elections will also be found on this phone.”
“So, it’s not the ED but the Bharatiya Janata Party that wants the password of Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s phone. They want to know through Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s phone what preparations the Aam Aadmi Party has made for the elections, and what strategy they have for contesting elections in Delhi, Punjab, Gujarat, and Assam. They want to know what the survey says wherever the Aam Aadmi Party is contesting elections. That’s why the BJP wants the password of Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s phone, not the ED. And once again, the ED has proven to be just a political tool of the BJP. Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest has nothing to do with any investigation. Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest is to create obstacles in the Lok Sabha elections. They want to know the electoral strategy of the Aam Aadmi Party and the India Alliance,” Ms. Atishi concluded.
