Arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a Delhi Court that the Enforcement Directorate’s motive is to crush the Aam Aadmi Party and he is ready to face probe in the money laundering case registered in connection with scrapped liquor policy. The AAP leader himself made submissions in Court on Thursday.
Kejriwal was produced in the Court of Special CBI judge Kaveri Baweja in Delhi’s Rouse Avenue as his remand custody with ED ended on Thursday. The Court remanded him to four days of ED custody, till April 1. The central agency sought seven-day custody of the chief minister and said he was not cooperative and gave evasive replies during interrogation. ED sought an extension of his custody saying the CM needs to be interrogated with a few other individuals who have been summoned from Goa in connection with the excise policy case. ED submitted in Court that Kejriwal did not share passwords hence they couldn't retrieve digital data.
Making submissions by himself in Court, Kejriwal said, “A smokescreen of AAP being corrupt is being created in front of the nation. I am named by four witnesses in the excise policy case. Are four statements enough to arrest a sitting CM?" He alleged that Sarath Chandra Reddy donated Rs 55 crore to the BJP. "I have evidence of this. The money trail is established as he donated the funds after being arrested," the chief minister said. Reddy is the director of Aurobindo Pharma Limited and one of the co-accused-turned-approvers in the case. Kejriwal claimed the money worth ₹100 crore, as alleged by ED, does not exist. "The actual liquor scam begins after ED investigation," he said.
AAP ministers Atishi, Gopal Rai and Saurabh Bharadwaj along with the chief minister's wife Sunita Kejriwal were inside the court. Earlier, before entering the Court, Kejriwal said, “This is a political conspiracy. Janta iska jawaab degi (People will reply to this)."
The AAP national convener was arrested by the ED in the case on March 21 and was subsequently sent to EDremand till March 28 by the court.
