New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday questioned the arrest of former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, claiming that it was directly ordered by Union home minister Amit Shah, while Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta alleged that the previous government’s scams were getting exposed.
Kejriwal made the remarks in a post on X, a day after Jain and five others were arrested in connection with an alleged corruption case involving the tendering process for sewage treatment plant projects of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
“An ACB official revealed that there was no plan for ACB to arrest Satyendra Jain until morning. Then in the afternoon, a direct call came from Amit Shah saying, ‘Arrest him’. That’s when the arrest was made,” Kejriwal claimed.
Gupta said scams under Kejriwal’s rule were coming to light, adding that 19 reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India tabled in the Delhi assembly had highlighted alleged corruption under the AAP government and investigative agencies were taking action on them.
Jain and former DJB CEO Udit Prakash Rai were among six persons arrested by the Anti-Corruption Branch in connection with the case.
BJP leaders accused the previous AAP government of corruption in the DJB and said the investigation should cover senior party leaders.
Meanwhile, Kejriwal asked Shah to explain why he allegedly put pressure on the investigating agency to arrest Jain. Jain had appeared before the Delhi government’s ACB on June 6 last year for questioning in the case after being summoned by the agency. AAP Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj also questioned Jain’s arrest and termed the case against him “fake”.
The case was registered on May 11, 2024, on a complaint by the Directorate of Vigilance, over alleged large-scale irregularities, manipulation of tender conditions and criminal conspiracy in the tendering process related to augmentation and upgradation of sewage treatment plants of the DJB.
Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra alleged that the DJB accounts had not been audited for 10 years and claimed there was an alleged scam of nearly Rs 60,000 crore. He said the full investigation report should come out.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari alleged that administrative corruption under the Kejriwal government was responsible for the failure to install sewage treatment plants on drains and the continued pollution of the Yamuna.
Similarly, BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj alleged that public money meant for sewage treatment facilities was siphoned off through a scam involving the then AAP government, its leaders, officials and contractors.
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal called the DJB case serious and alleged that the Kejriwal government had prioritised corruption over cleaning the Yamuna.
BJP leaders Praveen Khandelwal and Praveen Shankar Kapoor also accused the AAP leadership of political patronage and rejected the party’s contention that Jain’s arrest was linked to the upcoming Punjab elections.
The AAP, however, alleged that Jain’s arrest was politically motivated and linked to the Punjab polls.
Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said the BJP was facing a “crushing defeat” in Punjab and had Jain arrested out of frustration.
Singh said Jain, the party’s Punjab sah-prabhari (co-incharge), had been working to strengthen the organisation in the state and alleged that the BJP was trying to obstruct the work of the Bhagwant Mann government.
He said AAP leaders had been arrested before elections in the past and claimed that Jain would be acquitted again. AAP chief spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar also alleged that the BJP was trying to create an atmosphere of fear through cases against party leaders.
She questioned the arrest of Jain in connection with the DJB case, claiming that he was already in jail when the alleged irregularities took place. She also questioned why other AAP leaders named by the BJP in connection with the alleged DJB scam had not been arrested.
Kakkar alleged that the BJP should instead focus on issues of governance and said the AAP would not be intimidated by such cases. PTI SHB SAP SHB SAP SAP
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