Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Atishi Marlena on Tuesday, during her ‘explosive expose, claimed that party leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, Raghav Chadha and herself would be “arrested in the coming two months before the Lok Sabha elections”.
She also claimed that she was told “that in the next few days, my house and those of my relatives would be raided. After that I and others will be served summonses and then arrested”, adding that, “We are not scared of your summons and threats.”
This comes a day after the Enforcement Directorate told the Rouse Avenue Court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal named Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj during questioning in the excise policy scam case.
It said that Kejriwal told the central agency that Vijay Nair — accused in the excise policy case — reported to minister Atishi. Nair is the former chief of AAP’s media communication cell.
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Further, in her press conference, Atishi said that ED taking hers and Saurabh Bharadwaj’s name in the court was “on the basis of a statement which is available with the ED and CBI for one and a half years”.
She said that the statement, cited by the ED, was present in its chargesheet and also in those of the CBI. “..So what was the reason for raising this statement?” Atishi asked.
“The reason for raising this statement was that now the BJP feels that despite Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendra Jain being in jail, the Aam Aadmi Party is still united and strong,” claimed the Delhi minister.
She further claimed that planning to put the next line of the AAP’s leadership in jail is underway.
Atishi said that the Bharatiya Janata Party is rattled by the success of the INDIA bloc’s “Save democracy” rally at Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.
ATISHI TELLS WHETHER DELHI CM WILL RESIGN
She also answered a question over whether the Delhi chief minister would resign from his post and said that there is “no reason” for him to do so.
“There are two constitutional and legal provisions related to this in our country. Representation of the People Act says that if you have a conviction for more than two years, then you cannot remain a public representative,” Atishi said.
She noted that Kejriwal has not been convicted and he enjoys “the overwhelming majority” of the Delhi Assembly, adding that “so there is no reason for Arvind Kejriwal to resign.”
“If Arvind Kejriwal resigns today then it will be a very simple and straightforward solution for the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple the opposition governments…” Atishi added.
KEJRIWAL NAMES ATISHI, SAURABH IN STATEMENT TO ED
During the hearing to send Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15, additional solicitor general SV Raju told the court, “Kejriwal told during interrogation that Vijay Nair used to report not to me but to Atishi. Vijay Nair has been close to Kejriwal. Kejriwal said during interrogation that Nair did not report to him, he used to report to Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj.”
The ED, in its application, had also that the Delhi chief minister was evasive in his replies on the questions of why Vijay Nair worked from the CM’s camp office.
The central agency sought Kejriwal’s judicial custody, citing “non-cooperative behaviour”.
“He did not reveal the password for digital devices… His conduct was totally non-cooperative. He is not giving his phone and deliberately misleading the investigation by giving evasive replies,” the federal agency told the court.
Following this, the Delhi court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15. The chief minister was lodged into cell no.2 of the Tihar Jail in the national capital on Monday evening. Under 24-hour watch and with four security personnel guarding him, the AAP chief can have home-cooked food, watch television and read books.
The AAP had earlier accused the Centre of wanting to impose President’s rule in the national capital by poaching its legislators and breaking the party.
(With PTI inputs)
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