Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has expressed full support for his party colleague, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, following a raid by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at Singh’s residence. Kejriwal asserted that over 1,000 such ED raids had been carried out without yielding evidence of illegally acquired funds. He claimed that the ED’s actions were driven by desperation ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to derail their political rivals.
Speaking in a statement, Kejriwal said, “Nothing will be found at his residence. 2024 elections are coming, and they know that they will lose. These are desperate attempts by them. As elections near, all agencies like ED, CBI, and others will get active.”
The Delhi Chief Minister further criticized the BJP, alleging that the party was resorting to desperate measures to disrupt the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“For the last year, we have been seeing… there is noise about an alleged liquor scam. More than 1,000 raids have been conducted, and not a single paise was recovered,” Kejriwal stated.
The ED’s raid on Sanjay Singh’s residence is linked to an ongoing investigation into the money laundering case related to the Delhi Government’s now-abandoned liquor policy. This move by the ED followed the recent decision of two individuals involved in the case to become approvers.
Sanjay Singh had previously sent a letter to Finance Secretary T V Somanathan, alleging that the ED Director and Assistant Director had unjustly associated his name with the alleged liquor scam, damaging his public image and reputation. He also claimed that his name was included based on statements from Dinesh Arora and demanded legal action against the officers, including an open and public apology. According to ED sources, the AAP leader’s name appeared four times in the ED charge sheet, with one reference being incorrect and typed inadvertently.
As the ED’s search at Sanjay Singh’s residence continues, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal labeled the raid as a desperate act by a party anticipating electoral defeat in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“They have been making allegations against us for a very long time. Sometimes they say there is a scam in bus purchasing, electricity, roads, and constructing classrooms, and now for the last year, they have been shouting about a scam in the liquor policy. But they have not found or recovered anything. They are not going to find anything. They are scared of losing polls,” Kejriwal emphasized.
Other AAP leaders also criticized the BJP, characterizing the ED’s investigation as fictitious and politically motivated. Delhi Health Minister and AAP senior leader Saurabh Bhardwaj remarked that the ED had been conducting a baseless investigation under the BJP’s direction for 15 months, spreading news of raids across the country without recovering any funds.
The ongoing developments in the ED raid, along with recent actions against journalists and activists, have raised concerns about the state of democracy and political tensions in the lead-up to the 2024 elections. The AAP continues to assert its innocence, while the BJP maintains that its actions are part of a legitimate investigation into alleged wrongdoing.
