NEW DELHI: AAP leader Atishi on Thursday said that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while arguing for himself in court clearly demonstrated how baseless the charges brought against him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) are. “A sitting chief minister has been arrested without any evidence in this baseless case,” Atishi said, expressing her concern over the “undemocratic nexus” between the probing agency and the BJP-led Centre.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj, also attending the press conference, said Arvind Kejriwal, during his remand hearing in a city court, sought to know whether just four statements against him in connection with the alleged excise policy scam were enough for his arrest.
Kejriwal also said in the court that the objective of the ED probe into the alleged liquor scam was to “crush AAP and prove it was corrupt”, said Bharadwaj who was present in the court.
The Delhi chief minister also brought to the cognisance of the court that one of the four witnesses whose statements were used against him, donated Rs 55 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds which was a proof of money trail in the alleged liquor scam, Bharadwaj said in a press conference.
No immediate reactions were available from the ED or the BJP over the charges and claims of AAP leaders Kejriwal as well as Bharadwaj. A Rouse Avenue court earlier in the day extended Kejriwal’s custody to the ED till April 1.
The Delhi chief minister was arrested last week from his residence by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the now scrapped excise policy (2021-22) of the Delhi government.
