NEW DELHI:
In a stunning twist to the ongoing saga of the alleged liquor scam, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerges victorious as truth prevails in the halls of justice. The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Enforcement Directorate, noting that no money has been recovered, there is no trace while granting bail to senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP, Shri Sanjay Singh.
The Enforcement Directorate’s relentless pursuit of Shri Sanjay Singh’s incarceration hits a roadblock as they fail to substantiate their claims in court. The AAP’s fervent assertions of innocence gain momentum as they expose gaping holes in the prosecution’s case. Amidst the chaos, AAP’s bombshell revelation implicating liquor magnate Sarath Reddy sends shockwaves through the political landscape. With calls for a thorough investigation echoing across the nation, the battle lines are drawn for a showdown of epic proportions.
After AAP Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sanjay Singh was granted bail by the Supreme Court in the alleged liquor case, senior leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party, Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi, and Jasmine Shah, held a joint press conference.
Addressing the media at the party headquarters, Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj, stated, “We had said that March 21, 2024, was a very significant day for Indian politics. Things started changing from the 21st of March. Today, on April 2, Tuesday, the Apex Court of the country, the Supreme Court’s, comprising a 3-judge bench, has granted bail to AAP Rajya Sabha MP Shri Sanjay Singh. The judges themselves were asking some questions to the central government, which the central government and its Enforcement Directorate (ED) were unable to answer.
The AAP Senior Leader continued, “The Supreme court questioned that during this time, Dinesh Arora, after being imprisoned, living in jail, became a government witness, and his statements were taken 10 times. There was no mention of Shri Sanjay Singh in those 10 statements. After that, Dinesh Arora is arrested again, and his 11th statement is taken. In the 11th statement, he says something very vague that one of ‘his men’ gave ‘Sanjay Singh’s man’ ₹1 crore twice.”
“It’s just a statement. There’s no statement from ‘his man’, no statement from the person he claims to be ‘Sanjay Singh’s man’. Where is the ₹1 crore, no one knows. Where did the ₹1 crore go, no one knows, no recovery has been made, no attachment has been made. Just one man’s statement, a man who has given 10 statements and said nothing about Shri Sanjay Singh. By pressuring him and making him give the 11th statement, and just on one man’s statement, how can you (ED) arrest the Rajya Sabha MP who questions the central government heavily. The central government didn’t have an answer to this in the Supreme Court today,” the Senior AAP Leader said.
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj further added that the Supreme Court’s second question from the Central Government’s ED, was, has any money been recovered, has any money been attached? When no money has been recovered, no attachment has been made, then how is PMLA applicable? The central government and the Enforcement Directorate had no answer to this. Ultimately, the Supreme Court said, how can it be assumed that a witness gave 11 statements, out of which you had discarded 10 in the garbage bin and presented one statement against Shri Sanjay Singh in court? How can the ED make this decision? Why didn’t you (ED) record the remaining 10 statements? The central government had no answer to this.
He mentioned, “This is exactly what the Chief Minister said in the Rouse Avenue Court, that a man was interrogated 7 times. Six times he said nothing, the ED put his son in jail, tortured him for 6 months, then you (ED) got him to testify against me, and based on that statement, you arrested me. The Supreme Court asked the same question today for which the central government had no answer, and while leaving for lunch, the Supreme Court told the ED, ‘If you bring any instructions, bring them, otherwise we will release him (Sanjay Singh), and the judgment we write in his release will obliterate your entire case. It will have repercussions for this case.’ The ED got scared because they had no way left to prevent Shri Sanjay Singh from getting bail.”
Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj affirmed that the section 45 of PMLA, which often makes it difficult to get bail, is such a harsh and cruel section. “Let me read and explain this section to you, it says, ‘the court should be satisfied that the accused is not guilty of the offense,’ this is a twin condition. If the court is granting bail, it means that the court believes that Shri Sanjay Singh is innocent. This is not a small court, it is the Apex Court of the country. I think today is a very big day for the democracy of the entire country, a day of great joy and hope. Perhaps now some people will get bail and can now safeguard this country’s democracy. Until now, BJP folks used to say that bail was not being granted, meaning something must have been done, otherwise bail would have been granted. Now they will say that bail has been granted. This doesn’t mean they (AAP leaders) haven’t done anything. The BJP believes that whether it’s a head or tails, the BJP wins, and the coin belongs to Modi Ji. From today, you will see this difference everywhere on social media,” he concluded.
AAP leader Atishi said that bail of Sanjay Singh today has proven that ultimately the truth prevails. Sanjay Singh’s bail has shown that one can suppress the truth but cannot erase it. We have seen how over the past two years, one by one, Aam Aadmi Party leaders were being arrested in false cases.
She said that first Satyendar Jain was put in jail, then Manish Sisodia was put in jail, then Sanjay Singh and Arvind Kejriwal were arrested. But the bail of Sanjay Singh today shows that ultimately the truth always wins.
Ms Atishi said, “During today’s court proceedings for Sanjay Singh, two important things came to light before the entire nation. Firstly, the Supreme Court asked a question to which the Enforcement Directorate had no answer: Where is the money trail? This investigation has been going on for two years now. More than 500 officers from the ED and CBI were involved in the investigation of this case, but not even a single rupee of proceeds of crime was found. And today, when the court asked the ED where the money trail is, the ED had no answer to this question from the court.”
She said that the second important thing is that the entire case of the ED under which Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Arvind Kejriwal were arrested is based on the statements of approvers. Such approvers who did not mention the name of any Aam Aadmi Party leader in their previous statements. But pressure was exerted on them, they were threatened, put in jail until they did not testify against Aam Aadmi Party leaders. And as soon as they testify against AAP leaders, the statements stop, and the approvers get bail.
Ms Atishi said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had stated in the Rouse Avenue Court that liquor businessman Sarath Reddy, who gave 11 statements, did not say anything against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. But they kept pressuring him, kept him in jail for months, and when he finally broke and gave a statement against Arvind Kejriwal, he was granted bail.
She said that Raghav Magunta Reddy gave 6 statements in which he did not say anything against Arvind Kejriwal. But he was arrested, kept in jail for 6 months. When he broke, a seventh statement was taken against Kejriwal. After that, no statement was taken, and he was granted bail. His father Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, who gave 2 statements in which he did not mention Arvind Kejriwal’s name. But when his son stayed in jail for 6 months, he broke and gave a statement against Kejriwal. The son was granted bail, and after that, no statement was taken.
Ms Atishi said that today there were many questions raised about Dinesh Arora’s statements in Sanjay Singh’s case. The Supreme Court asked the ED if Dinesh Arora had given 10 statements in which he did not say anything against Sanjay Singh, but when in the 11th statement he gave a statement against Sanjay Singh, the statements stopped being taken.
She said that today in front of the Supreme Court, the ED’s exposure happened when they were asked why they did not present the first 10 statements before the court. What was in the 11th statement that they did not ask for a statement afterwards? Today, the entire country has come to know that this alleged liquor scam is based solely on false testimony coerced from approvers.
Ms Atishi said that we hope that the ED will now investigate the money trail in this case. Liquor businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy gave ₹55 crores to the BJP, which is the only established money trail in this case. The ED will investigate him, file their own FIR, make the BJP accused, and investigate them. The national president of the BJP will be arrested and interrogated because if there is any money trail in this whole case, it has gone from liquor businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy to the BJP.
Shri Jasmine Shah stated, “I would like to begin by saying ‘Satyamev Jayate!’ (Truth Prevails). Today marks a big victory, not just for the AAP, but for every patriot who loves the country, who believes in the constitution of India. Out of all the AAP leaders who have been arrested in the liquor policy scam so far, our MP Shri Sanjay Singh has been granted bail by the Supreme Court today. The BJP has been constructing this huge mountain of lies for the last two years, running a propaganda that the AAP had committed a huge liquor scam, accusing various of our leaders under the so-called scam. This mountain of lies has been shaken today. I can assure you that the so-called Delhi’s liquor policy scam will go down in history. How a powerful party (BJP) used all the constitutional institutions like CBI and ED as its tools to crush a small party (AAP).”
Shri Jasmine Shah stated how the investigation has been going on for the last two years. “We have been repeatedly asking them about the money trail if the scam has happened. They had been claiming that they would find the money trail but they merely had statements from witnesses. They have based the whole case solely on the witnesses’ statements.”
Ms. Atishi and Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj have already mentioned how multiple statements were taken from each witness. The law was mocked in front of the nation. Statements were repeatedly taken unless the witness said something against any big leader of the AAP. The witnesses randomly took anybody’s name. Some witnesses have even said this in court that they are being threatened by all means. Their families are being pressurized. Considering all these things, the Supreme Court has given its historical verdict today, Jasmine Shah stated.
“Now their statements have proven to be fabricated, they have no answers. We listen to their leaders every day. They were earlier claiming that they had thorough statements from government approvers. Now when you ask them about Sarath Chandra Reddy, what is the explanation of Rs 55 crore, they go silent. When we ask them about Magunta Reddy, based on whose statement you arrested Shri Arvind Kejriwal, how did you give him an NDA ticket? He’s campaigning everywhere for the Lok Sabha elections with Shri Modi’s poster, they again go silent. The only thing they say is to give these arguments in court. They straightaway say that if the court is not granting you bail, that means you are guilty.”
Today, during the Supreme Court’s hearing session, the decision that has come out makes it even more important to hold the BJP accountable. The BJP is answerable to the country, how they have made a joke out of the country and the law. They have used a fabricated case to arrest all the leaders of the opposition party. They are threatening our leaders, including Ms. Atishi, Shri Saurabh Bharadwaj, Shri Raghav Chadha, and Shri Durgesh Pathak. They are saying they will start putting all the leaders in jail one by one.
“I believe every citizen should be proud of the fact that the Judiciary and Constitution of India have supported the truth. In a few days, the BJP’s mountain of lies will also collapse,” Jasmine Shah stated.
