NEW DELHI ;
AAP senior leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi today said the entire case of the Enforcement Directorate is based on the statements of the people who have either been coerced by the probe agency or those who bought electoral bonds.
Addressing a press conference she said, “We respectfully disagree with the orders of Rouse Avenue Court regarding the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal. We want to mention that we do not agree with these court orders.”
She further emphasized that at the present juncture, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) leaves the court with no alternative but to grant remand to the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This is the reason why one after another opposition leaders are being charged under the PMLA. PMLA is an act under which if a person is charged, it is nearly impossible to obtain bail.
The AAP senior leader said, “Everyone has witnessed how PMLA cases are being imposed on opposition leaders one after another. This is because today the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aims to win the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections by using the ED. Today, the BJP is attempting to contest the Lok Sabha polls by hiding behind the ED. We saw an example of this just an hour ago when the BJP distributed the remand application submitted by the ED to all media channels, as if the ED has become a part of the BJP.”
Atishi said today it is evident that despite two years of investigation, the ED has not been able to trace the proceeds of any crime, not even a single penny. Despite two years of investigation, involving 500+ officers and several raids, not a single penny has been found from any leader of the Aam Aadmi Party. Yet, the top four leaders of AAP have been arrested, she added.
Atishi said, “The entire case of the ED is based on statements from people who have been threatened by them. One important example of this is Raghav Magunta, who stated on September 16 that he doesn’t know Dinesh Arora, Arun Pillai, Vijay Nair, or any other leader of the Aam Aadmi Party. Despite this, Raghav Magunta was arrested on February 10. Later, he was pressured to change his statement, claiming he had given Rs 25 crores. After changing his statement on July 27, he applied for bail citing severe backache, which the ED did not oppose. This is the same ED that refused bail to Satyender Jain, who required urgent spinal surgery.”
She further stated that another such witness whose statement the ED is using to justify the arrest of CM Arvind Kejriwal is P. Sarath Reddy. On November 9, he stated that he had not given any money to Dinesh Arora, Vijay Nayar, or the Aam Aadmi Party, yet he was arrested on November 10. Later, he claimed to have given a Rs 100 crore bribe to AAP, K. Kavitha, and others. After this statement on April 26, he also received bail on the grounds of having a backache.
This clearly indicates that the ED is arresting people in this case and pressuring them to give false statements against the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders.
The AAP senior leader said, “The same P. Sarath Reddy, whose statement the ED is relying on to arrest CM Arvind Kejriwal, is also the one who bought electoral bonds worth Rs 45 crores immediately after his arrest. Shortly after, he obtained bail. Today, it is evident that the ED has not found a single piece of evidence of corruption in this case. The ED is building the case solely on statements that have been extracted forcefully from various individuals.”
Atishi said this is not an investigation; it is the murder of democracy. A sitting Chief Minister, a prominent opposition leader, and the National convener of the Aam Aadmi Party has been arrested without any evidence. Today, the democracy of this country is under attack. I would like to tell the BJP that the whole country is witnessing your dictatorship today, and they will respond strongly to this dictatorship of BJP. This is the country of Bhagat Singh and Baba Saheb Ambedkar, where every attempt to murder democracy has been met with a resounding response from the people, added Atishi.
