Comments
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday alleged connection between one of the witnesses in the alleged excise policy scam and the BJP and also challenged the enforcement directorate (ED) to conduct a probe into it.
Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, whose son Raghava Magunta Reddy was arrested by the ED in connection with the excise policy case, has been fielded by the BJP's ally TDP in the Lok Sabha polls, senior AAP leaders and Delhi Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged in a press conference.
"I challenge the ED if it is an independent agency, to bring in record this connection and probe it," Atishi said and alleged that the BJP has connections with the so-called 'South Lobby' of liquor traders.
No immediate reaction was available from the BJP on AAP's allegation.
Kejriwal was arrested on the basis of four statements including by the Maguntas, the AAP leaders claimed. The Delhi Chief Minister was arrested on March 21 in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case being probed by the ED.
"Earlier, another witness against Kejriwal in the excise policy case, Sarath Reddy, had paid ₹55 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds which proves the party has a connection with the 'South Lobby'," Atishi further alleged.
She charged that the ED had been ‘torturing’ the witnesses till it got statements from them against Kejriwal.
- Also read:ED failed to establish money trail against any AAP leader despite multiple raids, says Atishi
Referring to the questioning of Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot by the ED in the excise policy case, she said, “They may summon me, Bharadwaj and other AAP leaders and arrest us, but we are not scared of going to jail.” She said Kejriwal’s arrest was an ‘assault on democracy’ in the country and the whole of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc opposed it.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.