Taking strong objection to the arrest of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday, AAP senior leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said a conspiracy is going on to arrest the MLAs, ministers, chief minister of the Aam Aadmi Party by deceit and fraud. The arrest of Amanatullah Khan was a part of the BJP’s strategy to keep an elected MLA away from his assembly just before the election.
Addressing a press conference here today, senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said Amanatullah Khan was arrested today in a worn out, rotten case. The case was under investigation by the ACB since 2016, that is, about 8 years ago, but nothing came out of it. Earlier also, the ACB forcibly made the arrest. When the arrest was made, a lot of drama was done, a lot of news was circulated that there must be some money transaction. Then Amanatullah Khan was granted bail. The same case was again sent to the CBI. The CBI investigated, questioned, summoned and filed a chargesheet in the case. There also, it was clear that there was no money transaction, no corruption took place, no monetary benefit was taken in lieu of a job.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said now the same case was handed over to the third agency, the ED. Now the question is why it was given to the ED. You will remember that a few months ago, the ED raided Amanatullah Khan’s three-room flat in Okhla, investigated in the matter. Then he was called in the morning and questioned till 11 pm at night and after that there was nothing for many months, because there was nothing wrong. Now in that case in which the ACB did not find anything, CBI did not find anything, the ED arrested Amanatullah Khan under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Referring to the arrest of Amanatullah Khan from his residence at Okhla today, the AAP senior leader said this shows that the only objective of the central government was to arrest the MLAs, ministers, chief ministers associated with Aam Aadmi Party in some way.
“He was arrested under the PMLA because the provisions of Act are so harsh that once arrested, it will take many months (for a person to come out of jail). A person will first go to the lower court, they do not have the courage to grant bail, this is being said repeatedly these days. Then the person will go to the High Court, then to the Supreme Court and for many months an elected MLA will remain missing from his assembly just before his election. This is the whole strategy _ a conspiracy is going on to arrest the MLAs, ministers, chief minister of the Aam Aadmi Party by deceit, fraud in some way,” said Saurabh Bharadwaj.
He said but the good thing is that now the BJP’s bubble is burst. It was punctured first when Manish Sisodia was granted bail, and the court said that ‘you pick and choose’. You put someone in jail, and you say that you will finish the trial within 6 to 8 months. “When Manish Sisodia was denied bail in the Supreme Court, on 30 October 2023, the ED lawyer had said that we will finish the entire trial in 6 to 8 months. Imagine, 10 months have passed since October and the trial has not even started yet, the trial should have been over two months ago. This is the commitment of the Central Government,” said the senior AAP leader.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said 350 witnesses have to testify in the court, then they have to be cross examined; then cross examination has to be done on the so-called evidence of 500 pages. So how will it happen? “That is why the country’s highest court is now granting bail to our people because the court is saying that your case is not going to end and you want people to be kept in jail for months and years, that is not possible. Bail is a rule, jail is an exception. Article 21 of the Constitution gives the right to liberty and that is a fundamental right, it is above all kinds of laws and special acts. Therefore, now the country’s highest court is continuously granting bail to people associated with the Aam Aadmi Party in the ED cases,” he said.
Addressing media persons after the raid on Amanatullah Khan’s residence earlier in the day, Saurabh Bharadwaj said it is the hooliganism of the BJP that ordered raid at the residence of the Aam Aadmi Party MLA by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) this morning. “The countdown of the BJP has started. The people of Delhi are seeing how these people are after the Aam Aadmi Party … and the people of Delhi will answer this,” he said.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said the court has reprimanded them (ED) so many times. The highest court of the country, Supreme Court, is saying this repeatedly in every case. When Manish Sisodia was granted bail, the trial court said so; when Arvind Kejriwal got bail in the lower court, the trial court said so; just a few days ago when K. Kavita was granted bail, the Supreme Court questioned the fairness of the central investigation agencies. “There is no law for them (investigation agencies), which means that pick and choose is clearly happening. Your allegation is that these people gave Rs 100 crore, arrested one of them, let the other go, made the third one an approver, gave bail to the fourth one,” said the senor AAP leader.
Saurabh Bharadwaj said what is happening, is this how investigations are done? “You (ED) are making someone an approver, someone an accused, you are not even questioning someone. You (BJP) took Rs 55 crore from someone in electoral bonds, there is no accountability for that. Why did you take Rs 55 crore from him, was that person your relative?” asked the senior AAP leader. So many BJP leaders hold press conferences, but the BJP does not have an answer to why they took Rs 55 crore from him (an accused in liquor case). And raiding someone’s house, make allegations against someone continues in this country. “It is very unfortunate. The countdown of the BJP has started. The people of the country have now decided that the BJP has to be sent away. The people of Delhi are also seeing how these people (BJP) are after the Aam Aadmi Party and are misusing their powers and the people of Delhi will answer this,” he said.
Referring to the video posted on the social media showing inside of Amanatullah Khan’s three-room flat, Saurabh Bharadwaj said in the video his (MLA’s) mother-in-law is lying there, she has a tube attached through which pus from her body is coming out. She had an operation two days ago; she is suffering from cancer. Amanatullah Khan and his family are being harassed by conducting repeated raids in a false case. You (BJP’s ED) went to raid his house again. “This is the worst kind of politics. The Bharatiya Janata Party is not ashamed,” said the AAP senior leader
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