'Completely Illegal, More Such Before 2024...': Kejriwal on AAP MP Sanjay Singh's Arrest

Calling the arrest of AAP leader Sanjay Singh “completely illegal”, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said more opposition leaders will be arrested in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He said the arrest of 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP also shows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “nervousness”.

Singh was arrested after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided his home in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. “The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi ji’s nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders until the elections,” the AAP national convener said in a post on X.

Earlier in the day, when the raids on Singh took place, Kejriwal said the BJP is resorting to desperate measures as it stares at a defeat in 2024, which is why many such raids will take place as the polls come closer. “They have been probing the alleged liquor scam for the last year but nothing has been found yet. Nothing will be found at Sanjay Singh’s residence. When someone is staring at defeat, they resort to desperate measures. That is what is happening right now,” Kejriwal said.

The AAP convener also said there is no need to be afraid of such raids as they will only increase as the elections near. “ED, CBI, I-T and police – all the agencies will become active as the elections come closer. Yesterday, it was journalists and, today, it is Sanjay Singh. Many such raids will happen. But there is no need to be scared,” he said.

He added: “For the last one year, we have been seeing that there is a cacophony surrounding an alleged ‘liquor scam.’ To date there hasn’t been any recovery of money, more than a thousand such raids have been conducted and many people have been arrested. They have been framing numerous accusations on us from time to time. Earlier they accused us of ‘classroom scams’ in schools, scams in the purchase of buses, construction of roads, water and electricity supply.”

Last week, too, after CBI action in the alleged irregularities in the construction and renovation of the chief minister’s official residence, Kejriwal had said “pradhan mantri ji is scared” (the Prime Minister is scared)” and had asked if the PM will resign if nothing is found during the probe.

Sanjay Singh’s name in ED chargesheet

The ED had earlier questioned members of Singh’s staff and those linked to him. It had mentioned the 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP’s name in its chargesheet, stating that Dinesh Arora, a middleman, had said he had met Singh during a party in his restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.

In 2020, the chargesheet stated, Singh requested him to ask restaurant owners to generate funds for the AAP for the Delhi assembly elections. He said he gave a cheque of Rs 82 lakh for the funds.

According to the chargesheet, Dinesh Arora said in his statement that another accused Amit Arora wanted help in moving his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampura. He managed this through Singh who told deputy CM Manish Sisodia and the matter was resolved by the excise department. Dinesh also said he met Kejriwal once at his residence with Singh while he had spoken to Sisodia five to six times, the chargesheet stated.

Overall, the charge against the AAP-led government is that its excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who paid bribes for it. The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2022.

Sanjay Singh one of the formidable voices in opposition: AAP

Delhi cabinet minister Gopal Rai said the panic of the impending defeat in the Lok Sabha polls was the reason behind the raids. “The way journalists were targeted on October 3 also indicates an attempt to silence any voice against those in power, which I believe is against democracy. The BJP should have trust in the people. Misusing agencies to silence voices won’t win elections, and history states this,” he said.

Rai’s cabinet colleague Atishi said the BJP is afraid of the AAP. “I can confidently say that just like in the 15-month investigation, no evidence of corruption will be found at Sanjay Singh’s house, village, or office, even if they raid it ten times,” she said.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said this is an imaginary scam that has been under scrutiny for the past 15 months. “The ED and CBI have conducted at least a thousand raids, but not a single rupee of corruption has been found. It is now being said that Sanjay Singh is also involved in this imaginary scam, but nothing will be found at his place either. Their sources will certainly say that they have found a lot, but when they go to court, they will claim they found nothing,” he said.

He said Singh is one of the formidable voices in the opposition and he has been questioning the Centre over a range of issues. “The Centre is trying to suppress his voice… BJP’s Centre government is going. They are taking desperate steps in the last moment to salvage their situation. We strongly condemn such raids and hope that elections happen quickly and people say Bye Bye to BJP,” Bharadwaj said.

AAP chief national spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar called the raids “vendetta” politics. “This is the most significant evidence that this is low-level politics. It is a politics of revenge, an attempt to discredit someone. In the past 15 months, many people have been harassed in jails, but nothing has been found. This proves that it is a politics of vendetta,” she said.

(With PTI inputs)