Delhi Finance Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi on Saturday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party took donations in the form of electoral bonds from companies linked to the Delhi excise policy case.
She alleged that the money trail in the alleged corruption case led to the BJP, not the AAP.
Atishi made the remarks at a press conference two days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested from his home in connection with the case. Kejriwal is the first sitting chief minister to be arrested in the country.
The Delhi minister said that companies linked to businessman P Sarath Chandra Reddy, one of the directors of Aurobindo Pharma Limited, donated money to the BJP through electoral bonds.
“Sarath Chandra Reddy gave Rs 4.5 crore to the BJP during the implementation of the excise policy,” she said. “After being arrested, he gave another Rs 55 crore to the BJP.”
In May, Reddy was granted bail on medical grounds and in June, he turned an approver in the case.
The Aam Aadmi Party alleged on Saturday that Kejriwal was arrested solely on the basis of the statement made by Reddy.
“On November 9, 2022, Sarath Chandra Reddy made a statement that he did not know Arvind Kejriwal and had nothing to do with the Aam Aadmi Party,” Atishi said. She added that Reddy was arrested the next day.
“After a few months in jail, Reddy made a statement against Kejriwal ji, and soon afterwards, he got bail,” the Delhi minister said.
Atishi said: “Now, I challenge PM [Narendra] Modi: Make BJP the main accused in the scam. And ED should arrest JP Nadda [the national president of the BJP].”
On Thursday, data on electoral bonds released by the Election Commission showed that Reddy’s Aurobindo Pharma Limited had donated Rs 5 crore to the BJP in 2022, just five days after he was taken in custody. The company donated another Rs 25 crore to the BJP after the Hyderabad-based businessman turned approver in the excise policy case.
In all, the company bought electoral bonds worth Rs 52 crore, of which Rs 34.5 crore went to the BJP.
‘No jail can keep me behind bars for long’: Kejriwal’s message from jail
On Saturday, Sunita Kejriwal, former Indian Revenue Service officer and the Delhi chief minister’s wife, read out a message from her husband on social media.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief said he would continue working for society and urged people to trust him.
“Women in Delhi must be thinking that Kejriwal is behind bars…who knows if they would get Rs 1,000,” he said, referring to his government’s monthly financial assistance scheme. “I appeal to them to trust their brother, their son.”
The Aam Aadmi Party chief said he would come out of jail soon and keep his promises. “There is no jail that can keep me behind bars for long,” he said.
Sunita Kejriwal also quoted the chief minister as saying: “Do not hate the people from the BJP. They are all our brothers and sisters.”
Aam Aadmi Party says its Delhi office has been sealed
Atishi on Saturday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party’s office in Delhi’s ITO area has been “sealed from all sides.”
“How can access to a national party office be stopped during the Lok Sabha election?” she asked in a post on X. “This is against the ‘level playing field’ promised in the Indian Constitution. We are seeking time with the Election Commission to complain against this.”
The Aam Aadmi Party’s National Spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj also confirmed that party leaders were not being allowed to access their office premises.
Liquor policy case
The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s liquor excise policy, which has been scrapped.
The policy came into effect in November 2021. It was withdrawn on July 30, 2022, with Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommending an investigation into the alleged irregularities of the policy.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified Delhi’s liquor excise policy to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.
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