AAP slams BJP over Kejriwal's arrest, urges INDIA bloc leaders to raise issue in Parliament

New Delhi, Jun 26 (PTI) The AAP alleged on Wednesday that central probe agencies are working with ill-will and political malice against its leaders at the BJP's instance, and said it will urge INDIA bloc leaders to raise the issue of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's arrest in Parliament.

Kejriwal was sent to the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) custody for three days in connection with the excise policy case on Wednesday.

After the CBI formally arrested Kejriwal, his wife Sunita claimed that the entire system is trying to ensure that her husband does not come out of jail and that this is akin to "dictatorship" and "emergency".

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre of getting Kejriwal arrested by the CBI in a "fake case".

Hitting back at the AAP, the BJP said it is shocking to see the Kejriwal government indulging in "melodrama" to divert the attention of Delhiites from the water crisis in the capital.

Addressing a press conference here, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said he will talk to INDIA bloc leaders over Kejriwal's arrest and request them to raise the issue in Parliament.

"I appeal to the INDIA bloc parties to raise the issue of Kejriwal's arrest in Parliament. We are talking to other opposition parties. I have also talked to Uddhav Thackeray. I will talk to Congress leaders. It is a misuse of probe agencies. All the opposition parties will be requested to raise the issue in Parliament," he said.

The Rajya Sabha MP was asked about the AAP's differences with the Congress and the latter criticising the Kejriwal-led party over issues related to Delhi.

"There can be differences at the state level, but we are together at the national level on the issues of the Constitution, democracy and misuse of probe agencies by the BJP against opposition parties," he said.

Singh alleged that the CBI is working with ill-will and political malice against AAP leaders at the BJP's instance.

"The CBI and ED are probing the so-called liquor scam for two years and saying many things without any evidence. The Supreme Court granted interim bail to Kejriwal, saying he is not a habitual offender and does not pose a threat to the society.

"The trial court said there was no evidence of money spent in the Goa polls and there was no money trail. It said the ED was working with bias against Kejriwal," he said.

In a post in Hindi on X, Sunita Kejriwal said her husband got bail on June 20 in the excise policy-linked money-laundering case, but the Enforcement Directorate (ED) immediately got a stay order from the court.

"The very next day, the CBI made him an accused. And today, he was arrested. The whole system is trying to ensure that the man does not come out of jail. This is not law. This is dictatorship, this is emergency," she said.

In a post on the microblogging platform, the AAP alleged that the "dictator" has crossed all limits of cruelty.

"Today, when there was every possibility of Chief Minister @ArvindKejriwal getting bail, the BJP went into panic mode and got him arrested by the CBI in a fake case.

"The CBI took Kejriwalji to the Rouse Avenue court, where his blood sugar level dropped very low. Dictator, no matter how much oppression you inflict, Kejriwal will neither bow down nor break," it said in the post in Hindi.

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the Centre has discriminated the most against the Delhi government and is using the CBI to frame Kejriwal in a case to stall the functioning of the AAP dispensation in the capital.

"Yadav has spoken about how the Centre is acting with ill-will against the Delhi government. The CPI and the CPI(M) have also extended their support," Singh said.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said it is shocking to see the AAP government indulging in melodrama to divert the attention of Delhiites from the prevailing water crisis in the city.

"From Narela to Badarpur and from Chattarpur to Najafgarh, Delhiites are facing the worst-ever water-mismanagement crisis, but Kejriwal is busy in a power struggle," he said.

The BJP leader asked Yadav, a former Uttar Pradesh chief minister, to seek data from the Kejriwal government on the amount of water needed by Delhiites and the water available, and said when he gets the information, he will realise that the capital is not facing any water shortage but its residents have become victims of water-supply mismanagement, leakages and theft by private tankers.

Earlier in the day, Singh said, "Magunta Reddy, based on whose statement the CBI arrested Kejriwal, had said in his earlier statements that he had nothing to do with Kejriwal. He gave his statement in January, but the CBI sprung into action to arrest Kejriwal in June.

"The arrest was made after the trial court granted bail to Kejriwal and it had to get the Supreme Court's stamp of approval. Then they remembered to arrest Kejriwal," he told reporters outside the Rouse Avenue court.

"When the matter is pending before the Supreme Court, the CBI moved to arrest him in a false case. There cannot be a bigger emergency than this," he said.

The AAP MP said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are playing a "dirty game" and the people of the country know what is going on. PTI SLB VIT BUN RC