The Centre on Thursday allowed the Central Bureau of Investigation to prosecute Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Kumar Jain in a disproportionate assets case, PTI quoted officials as saying. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre was targeting the Aam Aadmi Party minister for working to regularise unauthorised colonies.

The development comes amid strained ties between the Centre and the Delhi government. Kejriwal accused the BJP of being an enemy of the people. “Satyendar Jain introduced a scheme for the regularisation of unauthorised colonies,” Kejriwal tweeted. “The Centre did not pass it, instead it got a case registered against Jain. The BJP is strictly against the regularisation of unauthorised colonies. [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is harmful for Delhi.”

Advertisement

Delhi BJP president Manoj Tiwari said the Centre’s decision exposes the “lies and misdeeds” of the Kejriwal government. “We hope Jain will be soon behind the bars and Kejriwal government will come to an end,” he said.

The investigating agency has accused Jain of allegedly buying land in the names of firms owned by him during the last five years and “laundering black money” worth several crores. “It has been alleged that the minister, while functioning as a public servant, has amassed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income to the extent of Rs 1.62 crore (approximately) during the period of February 14, 2015 to May 31, 2017,” a CBI spokesperson had said in 2017. “His wife and associates have allegedly abetted the commission of the offence.”

On August 24, 2017, the CBI registered a case against Jain, his wife Poonam and his alleged associates – Ajeet Prasad Jain, Vaibhav Jain, Sunil Kumar Jain and Ankush Jain. The agency’s first information report identified Prayas Info Solutions, Akinchan Developers, Managalyatan Projects and Indo Metal Impex Pvt Limited as the firms involved in the alleged money laundering.