Will sue CBI, ED for lying in court: CM
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal plans to sue India?s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate for perjury, accusing them of ?torturing witnesses and accused? in their investigation of an excise policy case. Kejriwal has been summoned by the CBI to appear as a witness on Sunday. The Delhi CM has not been named as an accused in the CBI's FIR filed on 17 August 2020. However, Kejriwal?s name cropped up when other accused and witnesses were questioned, prompting the agency to seek clarifications.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday accused the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate of “torturing witnesses and accused” in their probe, and announced plans to sue the central agencies for perjury, a day before he was due to be questioned as a witness by CBI in the excise policy case.
The chief minister cited what he said were medical reports of one of the accused in the excise policy case who ostensibly suffered hearing loss, and purported disclosures by the agencies in connection with evidence seizures from his erstwhile cabinet deputy, Manish Sisodia.
“Since no scam has been committed, people are being tortured to give incriminating statements,” Kejriwal said at a press conference on Saturday.
“I want to ask the Prime Minister what is going on. They catch anyone and then torture them to name Kejriwal or [Manish] Sisodia. That is their probe?” he said, citing what he claimed were medical reports of Chandan Reddy, who allegedly suffered hearing loss due to physical torture in September last year.
Kejriwal has been summoned by CBI to appear before it for questioning as a witness on Sunday.
Saying that he will cooperate with the probe agency, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor said, “If the BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] has asked the CBI to arrest me, how will the CBI disobey them.”
Sunday’s exercise will mark Kejriwal’s first involvement in the excise policy probe.
The Delhi CM has not been named as an accused in CBI’s FIR filed on August 17 last year. However, according to people aware of the investigations, his name cropped up when other accused and witnesses were questioned, prompting the agency to seek clarifications.
ED has claimed in one of its charge sheets filed on January 6 that the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy was the “brainchild” of Kejriwal.
Questioning the probe by the two agencies, Kejriwal accused CBI and ED of “misleading” the court by saying that former deputy chief minister Sisodia destroyed 14 mobile phones to hide evidence.
“In ED’s own Seizure Memos and Impounding Orders issued on March 18, 2023, and January 5, 2023, the agency has stated on record that it is in possession of four of those 14 phones. Similarly, the CBI is in possession of one phone. As for the rest of the nine phones, most of these are being used by volunteers and workers,” Kejriwal said, adding that the central agencies were aware of the status of the devices but had “misled the court through their affidavits and tabled fabricated evidence to trap AAP leaders”.
Sisodia has been arrested by CBI, which took him in on February 26, and ED on March 9. The two agencies are running parallel probes into the excise policy, that was scrapped following allegations that the way it was planned and executed meant to favour particular people — allegations AAP has denied.
Kejriwal said that it has been alleged that a bribe of ₹100 crore was taken, but questioned on why the money had not been traced.
“More than 400 raids were conducted... where is the money? It was said that the money was used in Goa elections. They questioned every Goa vendor whom we had employed, but could not find anything because we made all payments through cheques,” he said.
His plans to sue the agencies were made in a tweet issued later. “We will file appropriate cases against CBI and ED officials for perjury and producing false evidence in courts,” he tweeted.
During the conference, Kejriwal also attacked PM Modi.
“I want to tell PM Modi, that if Arvind Kejriwal is corrupt, then no one in this world is honest. The issue is not corruption or its probe at all. How can corruption be an issue for the PM who is himself immersed in corruption?” he asked, referring to a recent interview by former Jammu and Kashmir governor Satya Pal Malik.
He alleged that the probe into the now-scrapped excise policy was part of a political witch-hunt against the AAP.
“No party has been targeted since independence the way AAP has been. Manish Sisodia was arrested and now they are trying to get me. AAP has given hope to the country which no party could give in 75 years. BJP has ruled Gujarat for 30 years, but they could not improve a single government school. In five years, we have transformed all government schools in Delhi. AAP has given hope to the people that poverty can be eradicated, and people can get good education and jobs. PM Modi wants to crush that hope,” Kejriwal said.
“I say that I paid ₹1,000 crore to PM Narendra Modi on September 17 at 7pm. Will the PM be arrested based on this claim? I should have some evidence. They have been alleging that ₹100 crore was paid to AAP. But, where is that ₹100 crore? There is no evidence, no proof,” he said.
He further said that the excise policy could have eradicated corruption in the liquor trade.
“The same policy was implemented in Punjab where AAP has a majority government, and it has led to around 50% growth in excise revenue in Punjab in just one year,” Kejriwal said.
The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business by letting it be run entirely be private businesses. The plan, however, ended abruptly, with Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said Kejriwal has started “trembling with fear” after CBI summons. “It is quite clear that Kejriwal is the kingpin of the liquor scam,” Bhatia alleged.
“Arvind Kejriwal ji, if you are not afraid of anything, then answer the questions that are asked... If your own standards are imposed on you, then take a polygraph test... take a lie detector test... everything will be clear,” Bhatia said at a press conference.
The AAP has planned a show of strength on Sunday, with party functionaries saying that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, Delhi cabinet ministers and AAP MPs will accompany Kejriwal to the CBI office.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi is using all his might to finish CM Arvind Kejriwal; the BJP has thought of keeping him in jail for 6 months and then creating havoc with investigative agencies in Delhi and Punjab,” said AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the CBI summon was a conspiracy to topple AAP government by arresting Arvind Kejriwal. “After the central government’s conspiracies to topple AAP’s Delhi and Punjab governments failed, the center has hatched a new conspiracy. Prime Minister does not want to fight any battle against corruption, he wants to fight with CM Arvind Kejriwal,” Singh said.
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