NEW DELHI: Following the CBI raid at former AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak’s residence, the BJP and AAP engaged in a war of words over the agency action. Launching a scathing attack on the latter, the ruling BJP dubbed the AAP as a “donation glutton party”, claiming that Pathak stole the donations intended for his own party.
The AAP retaliated saying the Centre has once again unleashed the central probe agency on the party’s Gujarat co-incharge Pathak, fearing AAP’s growing influence in the PM’s native state.
Reacting to the development, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva jibed at the AAP saying it is truly a strange party. “Pathak has essentially embezzled his own party’s funds. If the investigating agencies are doing their job, what is the problem with it? ... once the full report is made public, more names involved in this case will be revealed,” Sachdeva said.
Meanwhile, addressing the press after the CBI raid, Pathak said the agency’s action was politically-motivated, intended to intimidate AAP as it gains ground in Gujarat: “The CBI searched every corner of my house for 3-4 hours but found nothing. I was not even told why the raid was conducted. It’s clear this was done to scare us because I’ve been made Gujarat co-incharge.”
He claimed a team of five to six CBI officials raided his residence. “The team carried out an intensive search for three to four hours. Every corner of my two-room house was checked, including the bed and cupboards. If they found a book, they flipped through every page,” he said.
Deep search
Pathak said CBI checked every corner of his residence, claiming, “If they found a book, they flipped through every page.”