AAP calls chargesheet into chief secy attack ‘bogus’, promises fitting response in court

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on Monday said it will produce “sensational evidence” in court against the “bogus” and “politically motivated” chargesheet filed by the Delhi Police in the case of the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash.

The government’s stern reaction came after chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia and 11 AAP legislators were named in the Delhi Police chargesheet. “The chargesheet will not stand in the court even for two minutes. Let the court proceedings begin, there will be a sensational evidence given in defence of the CM and others in the case. Just wait and watch,” a media advisor to the chief minister said.

Hours after the police filed the chargesheet, five state ministers Gopal Rai, Satyendar Jain, Kailash Gahlot, Rajendra Pal Gautam and Imran Hussain came together to give a joint statement and called the police’s act a “witch-hunt against the Delhi government” that was based on “imaginary and false allegations”. The other two minister in the cabinet are Kejriwal and Sisodia, both of whom are named in the chargesheet.

“The bogus chargesheet will be torn to shreds when it will be put to legal scrutiny. It will be contested with all legal strength to expose the real face of the (Narendra) Modi government and its puppet Delhi Police,” the ministers’ statement said.

Alleging vendetta politics on the part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the ministers said the party has “relentlessly unleashed” all their agencies with full might to “crush the government to fulfil their arrogant desire of seeking complete revenge”.

“This entire conspiracy to name the chief minister and the deputy chief minister in a fake and laughable criminal case is the result of the extreme frustration of the Modi government, which has so far miserably failed in all its attempts to dislodge the Delhi government elected by a historic mandate,” the statement said.

They also said that the Centre has not learnt any lesson from its previous attempt of booking elected MLAs in false cases in the last three-and-half years. “It is now a documented fact that the fast-track courts in Delhi during the last five months have acquitted/ discharged elected MLAs in 19 out of 22 cases registered against them since February 2015,” they said adding that no stone has been left unturned in paralysing the Delhi government.

AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said lieutenant governor Anil Baijal, Prakash and the Delhi police commissioner were the main players who implemented this conspiracy, hatched at the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office.

While refusing to comment on the issue, Prakash said that whatever he has to he would say in the court. The L-G office did not comment on the issue.

Bureaucrats in the Delhi government, who had a major showdown with the political executive for about four months after Prakash’s incident, said the chargesheet vindicated their stand and corroborated the allegations by the top bureaucrats. “This incident was an unprecedented one. If this is not taken seriously then it will set the wrong precedent for governments in other states as well,” an official said.

Opposition criticises AAP

The opposition parties — Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress — stepped up attack on Aam Aadmi Party government.

The BJP sought resignation of the chief minister and his deputy after the development while the Congress condemned the ruling party for thrashing and intimidating bureaucrats.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said it was a shameful and ignoble day in the history of Delhi’s polity when the CM and deputy CM stand accused of criminal conspiracy.

“The CM should own moral responsibility of the attack and hand over charge to some other party colleague till the court decides the matter,” Tiwari said.

Delhi Congress president Ajay Maken said the attack on CS Anshu Prakash was “unprecedented”.

“Calling CS at 12 Midnight at CM house to thrash him & intimidate him is unprecedented in Indian political history. Being elected, doesn’t give AAP a license, to beat the senior most bureaucrat. Politicians come & go, but this non-political steel frame shouldn’t be the target! (sic).” Maken tweeted on Monday.

Seeking resignation of Kejriwal and Sisodia, leader of opposition in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta said they “had lost right to continue in their offices”.

“For the first time in the history that a sitting CM and deputy CM will have to face charges in the court. The web of lie and deceit woven by the AAP stand fully exposed. They quietly watched the misdeeds of their cronies. Therefore, they are equal partners in crime,” said Gupta.