NEW DELHI: Delhi Finance Minister Atishi was served a notice by Delhi Police asking her to provide information on the claims made by her against the BJP attempting to poach AAP MLAs. A similar notice was served on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday.
Sources said the Delhi minister’s staff received the notice after a team from the Crime Branch visited her residence on Sunday. Both Kejriwal and Atishi have been told to respond by February 5.
Atishi was not present at her residence when the notice was handed over, they said. Earlier in the day too, police had arrived at her residence but she was not present.
While talking to the media later, Atishi said the notice does not have any mention of an FIR or include penal provisions.
She said AAP has sympathy for the Crime Branch officers who are being forced by their “political bosses” to indulge in such “theatrics.”
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva reacted to Atishi’s remarks and challenged both Kejriwal and Atishi to tell the people of Delhi which BJP leader had offered them to join the BJP or resign.
On January 27, Kejriwal had alleged a poaching attempt by the BJP in a bid to topple the city’s elected government. Kejriwal claimed the saffron party contacted seven AAP MLAs, asking them to switch sides by offering Rs 25 crore each. He also said that the BJP told AAP MLAs that Kejriwal would be arrested soon.
Atishi claimed to have an audio clip of an “unknown” BJP leader talking to an AAP MLA about the “likely arrest of Kejriwal and poaching plans.”