: The BJP on March 22 welcomed a Delhi court decision to send Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate’s custody in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case, saying the “kingpin of the crime” had finally been brought to justice.
Addressing a press conference here, Union Minister and BJP leader Smriti Irani said that after the court’s order, the country was convinced that nobody was above the law.
“The news about the court sending him to [the ED’s] remand has at least convinced the country that nobody is above the law. The kingpin of the crime, Arvind Kejriwal, has finally been brought to justice,” she said.
“Kejriwal came with a promise of change and transparency. What he sought to do was use the state instrument to defraud the public exchequer.”
“Today, he stands before the law to be adjudged and prosecuted, and then made to pay for his crimes.... This is the true face of the kingpin of the crime, Arvind Kejriwal,” Ms. Irani alleged.
Referring to media reports on the hearing of Mr. Kejriwal’s case, Ms. Irani said the investigating agency “unequivocally” told the court that liquor companies were instrumental behind the framing and implementation of the Delhi excise policy.
“What is shocking is that this is not only an abject pronouncement of the evidence found but also finding an illustration of financial transactions of various kinds,” she said.
Asked about Rahul Gandhi extending his support to Mr. Kejriwal’s family, Ms. Irani said that did not come as a surprise as Congress leaders were known for speaking in “forked tongues, especially the Gandhi family”.
“In July last year, Rahul Gandhi made a mention of the Delhi liquor scam at a rally in Telangana. So which Rahul Gandhi is correct, the one who is calling up Kejriwal’s family or the one who spoke in Telangana?” she asked.
“And which Congress party is correct, one that wrote a letter to the Delhi Police Commissioner in June 2022 [seeking a probe into the alleged excise policy scam] or the one that is trying to defend him [Kejriwal] today? Which Congress is correct, the one in the form of [Ajay] Makenji, who accused Kejriwal of taking black money to defeat the Congress in the Goa Assembly polls?” she asked.
Replying to questions, Ms. Irani also slammed INDIA bloc parties for approaching the Election Commission after Mr. Kejriwal’s arrest and alleged that corruption was the “glue” that brought them together.
“What is also interesting is that an officer of the court, who had just appeared before the court, goes to the EC to bring the court under pressure,” she said, without naming Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi who appeared in the court as Mr. Kejriwal’s counsel.
“It is for the legal luminaries to opine on why an officer of the court, after appearing on behalf of a client before the court, goes to the EC to suppress the majesty of the court... This [INDIA] is an alliance of thieves. He proved it today. His effort is condemnable,” Ms. Irani said.
