Sanjay Singh’s arrest: AAP to protest outside BJP HQ; Kejriwal attacks Modi
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will protest outside the BJP headquarters in New Delhi today against the arrest of its Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged liquor scam.
Sanjay Singh was arrested after raids at his Delhi residence followed by hours-long questioning concerning a money laundering case linked with Delhi excise policy.
The arrest triggered a political firestorm, with Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“This shows Modi ji’s nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders before the elections,” Kejriwal said on X.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Singh’s residence in the evening, Kejriwal asserted that the AAP is “a hardcore honest party”.
“They arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a strong voice against the corruption of Modiji. He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) is corrupt from head to toe. I think he is the most corrupt prime minister in independent India,” Kejriwal said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party hit back at AAP saying the arrest was part of the steps being taken towards building a ‘Bhrashtachaar Mukt Bharat’ (corruption-free India).
All you need to know about Sanjay Singh’s arrest
Singh’s arrest came a day after a Delhi court allowed restaurateur Dinesh Arora and Raghav Magunta to become approvers in ED’s excise case.
The statements given by Dinesh Arora, who claims he was a close aide of Singh, played a key role in Wednesday’s arrest, according to an officer from the federal agency.
Singh’s is the second high-profile arrest in the alleged liquor scam after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. Sisodia was arrested in February by CBI and was later taken into custody by ED.
The under-scanner excise policy was rolled out in November 2021 for the 2021-22 financial year, marking the exit of the Delhi government from retail sales of alcohol. It allowed private players to bid for licenses.
The probe agency has alleged that kickbacks were paid to implement the excise policy which was scrapped after Delhi’s lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for an investigation into alleged irregularities.
The Enforcement Directorate has so far arrested 14 individuals and filed five prosecution complaints.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is conducting a parallel corruption probe with two charge sheets filed.
Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav said the BJP leaders are scared and perturbed and that “they will take similar action here (in Bihar) as well.”
Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the Modi government must go for the sake of ‘India that is Bharat’.
Former Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari alleged that the AAP leaders are not only corrupt but have also betrayed the electoral trust of the people in the national capital. He said the spotlight will soon shift from Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia as the probe “will soon reach the threshold of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.”