Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court has reserved its order on custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested last week on corruption charges. Last week Mr Kejriwal was sent to custody of the arresting agency, the Enforcement Directorate, for seven days. That custody ends today, and the probe agency has sought a further seven days to continue questioning the Aam Aadmi Party leader.
Earlier today a defiant Mr Kejriwal rose to address the court directly, and accused the probe agency of trying “to crush” his party. Mr Kejriwal pointed out – as the AAP has since his arrest – no part of the alleged Rs 100 crore in bribes had been recovered. He also said no court had found him guilty.
“I was arrested… but no court has proved me guilty. The CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation) has filed 31,000 pages (of chargesheets) and ED filed 25,000 pages. Even if you read them together… the question remains… why have I been arrested?” Mr Kejriwal asked the court.
Given just a few minutes to speak, the AAP leader also said his name only figured four times in those tens of thousands of pages, and that one of those four was C Arvind and not Arvind Kejriwal.
C Arvind was ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s secretary, and he has told the authorities that Mr Sisodia – who was arrested in this case in February – handed over “some documents”.
“My name came just four times… and once it was ‘C Arvind’. He said that in his presence Sisodiaji gave me some documents. But MLAs came to my house daily… to give me files, to discuss the government. Is a statement like this enough to arrest a sitting Chief Minister?” he asked.
The AAP leader had been expected to make a big revelation in this case; last evening his wife, Sunita Kejriwal, declared her husband would offer insights into the location of the alleged Rs 100 crore.
READ | “He’ll Reveal Where Money Of So-Called Liquor Scam Is”: Kejriwal’s Wife
In court today, Mr Kejriwal referred to the statements of approvers, or government witnesses, who had earlier been arrested in this case, suggesting they had been coerced into accusing him.
“The ED had only one mission – to trap me,” he alleged, “Three statements were given (by one witness)… but the court only saw those that accused me. Why? This is not right.”
Another witness, he said, had given six statements that did not name the Chief Minister, but he was released after a seventh that did so. “If there really is a scam of 100 crore… where is the money?”
The Chief Minister also referred to a third witness – Sarath Reddy – who he claimed had donated Rs 50 crore to the BJP. “I have proof… that they are running a racket,” he declared.
In a brief but urgent statement, Mr Kejriwal also accused the ED – which the opposition claims is used by the Bharatiya Janata Party to target rivals, particularly before elections – had been told to create a “smokescreen… to allow BJP to run an extortion racket through which they collect money”.
To all of this, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, counter-accused Mr Kejriwal of “playing to the gallery”. “How does he know how many documents are with ED? This is all a figment of his imagination,” Mr Raju declared.
“AAP received kickbacks which they used in the Goa election… there is a clear-cut chain. We have statements and documents to show money came through hawala (illegal networks),” he said.
“We have material to show this very person (Mr Kejriwal) demanded Rs 100 crore kickbacks.”
Late last night the Delhi High Court heard a petition by Mr Kejriwal challenging his arrest in the alleged liquor policy scam. The court issued notice asking the ED to respond to the petition.
READ | No Immediate Relief From High Court, Arvind Kejriwal To Stay In Custody
The probe agency time till April 2 to do so. The next hearing in this case is on April 3.
The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six per cent – over Rs 600 crore – were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns.
The ED has labelled the Chief Minister as a key conspirator in this case, but Mr Kejriwal and party colleagues arrested in this matter – ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and former Health Minister Satyendar Jain – have all denied the charges.
NDTV Explains | Why Did The Enforcement Directorate Arrest Arvind Kejriwal
The AAP and the opposition have hit out at the BJP-led central government for using central agencies, like the ED, to target rivals and critics before the general election. The AAP has criticised Mr Kejriwal’s arrest on grounds it was timed to interfere with his plans to campaign for the party.
The BJP has dismissed claims it uses central agencies as described by the opposition.
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