Kejriwal Group AAP Fears Modi-Led Police Action

Arvind Kejriwal said that in the past false cases and raids on AAP members have gone futile.

By Rakesh Raman

A political group Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) headed by Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has once again expressed its resentment with the Central leadership, saying that AAP members may be victimized.

Kejriwal’s colleague and deputy chief minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia has alleged that prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi has shared a hitlist of 15 people – including AAP politicians – with the Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Enforcement Directorate (ED) and asked them to harass these people.

In a video released on Saturday (August 21), Sisodia said that he has come to know from reliable sources that Modi has asked the police and other agencies to raid these people and implicate them in false cases to ruin them before the next elections. However, Sisodia did not disclose his sources to substantiate his claims. 

Sisodia added that Delhi Police chief Rakesh Asthana – whose recent appointment has been challenged in the court – has promised to implement Modi’s directive. Delhi Police is owned and operated by Modi’s colleague Amit Shah who is the home minister of India.

In his tweet of August 21, Kejriwal also said that in the past false cases and raids on AAP members have gone futile. But he did not directly blame Modi, because Kejriwal is perhaps scared of Modi. Both Kejriwal and Sisodia have said in the past that Modi and his party (Bharatiya Janata Party or BJP) want to get Kejriwal killed. Kejriwal had also released a video of his claims about Modi’s attempt to get him assassinated. [ Click here to watch the video. ]

Sisodia said in his video of August 21 that fake cases were registered against 21 AAP MLAs (Members of the Legislative Assembly) and the Shunglu Committee set up to investigate the corruption of AAP government did not yield any result.

Addressing an important Press Conference | LIVE https://t.co/eHM1FIJzXx

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 21, 2021

A former Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi Najeeb Jung had set up an expert committee – called the Shunglu Committee – to examine over 400 files for financial and administrative irregularities committed by Kejriwal’s government.

While the Shunglu Committee had submitted its report in November 2016, it is stated that the report has found serious cases of fraud, cheating, and misappropriation of funds in Kejriwal’s government. But the case was brushed under the carpet.

In response to Sisodia’s rants, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said that if Sisodia and AAP leaders are honest, they should let the agencies do their investigative work. Gupta added that Kejriwal and Sisodia are disturbed because the Central government has allowed CBI to probe into the DTC bus purchase scam by Delhi Government. He also blamed Kejriwal and his party for corruption in Delhi Jal Board, adding that the people of Delhi will not spare the corrupt.

It is largely believed that Kejriwal and Sisodia – who are heading one of the most corrupt governments in India – are making grounds for their escape by accusing the Modi government of launching unfair investigations against them. If they are caught and charged for their corrupt acts, they will claim that these investigations and charges against them are politically motivated.

These days, Kejriwal is feeling more desperate because his status has been virtually reduced to the level of a personal assistant to Delhi’s LG Anil Baijal. Despite Kejriwal’s regular complaints, now LG Baijal is calling the shots in Delhi while Kejriwal has been relegated to a mere figurehead role. 

A new law – the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi (Amendment) Act – makes it clear that the term “government” in Delhi means the LG of Delhi and the elected government of Kejriwal cannot take any decision independently. In other words, the Kejriwal government will have to take LG’s consent before taking any executive action.

Now if Delhi Police, CBI, or ED want to investigate crime and corruption of AAP leaders, they should hold the investigations in a transparent manner by live-streaming the hearings with them and making the findings of their probes public.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society.