NEW DELHI: Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain became the latest entrant in the list of non-BJP leaders to face ED action. The central agency on Tuesday said that it attached assets worth Rs 4.81 crore of the senior AAP leader in a “money-laundering probe” launched against him in 2018. In a statement, the ED said it has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for the attachment of the assets. The ED had earlier questioned the AAP leader in connection with the case.
According to the officials, the named persons in the attachment order are associates and family members of Jain. The case stems from an August 2017 FIR filed by the CBI against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets. The CBI has claimed that Jain purchased 200 bighas of agricultural land in the names of companies controlled by him in Delhi in five years preceding 2018 and “laundered black money” to the tune of several crores.
It had alleged that Jain controlled these companies in the past either in the form of being one of the directors or by holding one-third of shares of these companies in his name or in the names of family members or others.
The AAP reacted strongly to the ED action. “The BJP is afraid of our expansion across the country. Given the way the Kejriwal Model is being accepted throughout India, we expected that the BJP will use agencies against the opposition as usual,” it said. ‘‘They registered more than a hundred cases against our MLAs and ministers and each one has been dismissed in court. We are sure this case will also be dismissed very soon.’’
But, the BJP said that after a long inquest, the ED has attached huge property of the minister, which shows that Jain has “ill-gotten wealth”. “It will be morally correct for AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal to dismiss his tainted minister,” BJP spokesperson Praveen Kapoor said.