NEW DELHI, April 1;
After Delhi Chief Minister Shri Arvind Kejriwal was sent in judicial custody on Monday, senior AAP leader Shri Jasmine Shah said the BJP’s ED has adopted a two-pronged strategy: keep Shri Arvind Kejriwal away from campaigning in elections and topple the AAP government by poaching its MLAs.
The Rouse Avenue court on Monday sent the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody until April 15, less thaFn three weeks before the country begins voting in Lok Sabha elections. In the legislative assembly today, an AAP MLA said they are being threatened and lured with money and power to switch over to the BJP.
Addressing media persons here today, AAP senior leader Shri Jasmine Shah stated that today in Rouse Avenue Court, after 11 days of Shri Arvind Kejriwal’s remand custody, the ED has not given any statement that what evidence or leads they got from questioning Shri Arvind Kejriwal. They have already kept a sitting Chief Minister in their custody for 11 days for questioning. Now that the 11-day custody came to an end, the ED has requested the court to send Shri Arvind Kejriwal into jail, in judicial custody.
“Now this is something worth understanding. The ED had been claiming that they only wanted to question Shri Arvind Kejriwal. They sent nine summonses, but the CM did not appear. They arrested him in the dead of night, then questioned him for 11 days and still did not find any evidence against him. Now they could release him. But no, their aim was never to question him, their main objective was to put Shri Arvind Kejriwal behind bars under the PMLA. They knew it from the beginning that this act grants immense power to the ED. Once a person is accused under the PMLA, the person remains in jail until the ED itself says that the person be granted bail,” Shri Jasmine Shah stated.
It is clear that the ED and the BJP from the beginning conspired against Shri Arvind Kejriwal. “Their only aim was to put Shri Arvind Kejriwal in jail and stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha election. They wanted to ensure that the Aam Aadmi Party is not able to perform well in the election. This is why they arrested Shri Arvind Kejriwal when the election Model Code of Conduct is in force,” said Shri Jasmine Shah.
He said the ED’s intentions are clear now. How the probe agency requested the court for judicial custody of a sitting Chief Minister. Judicial custody is for people who are considered ‘flight risk’ or someone who can tamper with the evidence or influence the witness. How can a sitting Chief Minister be considered a ‘flight risk’? It is clear that they wanted to stop Shri Arvind Kejriwal from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, added the senior AAP leader.
“Secondly, a revelation took place in the Delhi Legislative Assembly today. One of our senior MLAs Shri Rituraj Jha again stated something that we have all been hearing from all the opposition parties, about how ‘Operation Lotus’ is going on continuously in Delhi. Shri Rituraj Jha stated that he was approached by the BJP at a public function to join them with an offer of Rs 25 crore to break away from the Aam Aadmi Party. AAP MLA was also told by the BJP workers that if your National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal can be arrested without any evidence, then who are you?” said Shri Jasmine Shah.
The senior AAP leader added how Shri Rituraj Jha also received the same offer on call where the caller said, “It will be good if you comply and join the BJP, otherwise we will leave the ED and CBI behind you. Second, if you bring 10 other MLAs with you, you will be made a minister. Anyway, the President’s rule is soon going to be imposed.” This is what the lower-level workers of the BJP are saying to senior leaders and MLA these days.
“EDs intentions are clear. The ED does not want to relieve Shri Arvind Kejriwal despite his constant cooperation for the past 11 days. When they did not find any evidence against him, they’ve started another conspiracy against him. Their first motive was to arrest him and stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. Now they want to poach every AAP MLA by threatening them, bribing them, offering them money and power. All of this is being done to break the spirit of the AAP and bring the President’s rule in action. This is their whole conspiracy,” Shri Jasmine Shah stated.
