New Delhi: Delhi minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Raaj Kumar Anand Wednesday tendered his resignation from the Arvind Kejriwal-led council of ministers and also from the primary membership of the party.
Addressing a press briefing at his residence in Delhi, Anand, who was given important portfolios such as health and education for a short period in March last year, said the AAP being “mired in corruption” was the reason behind his abrupt resignation.
The development comes about three weeks after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case, and Delhi’s top ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the BJP-led central government was misusing central agencies to target AAP leaders and finish the party.
The ED had on 2 November, 2023, raided premises linked to Anand and had claimed seizure of “incriminating material” such as evidence related to unaccounted transactions and hawala transactions to China.
In a statement, the probe agency had at the time said that searches were carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as Anand was charge-sheeted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in relation to hawala transactions linked to China and evasion of customs duty amounting to Rs 7 crore.
“As per the said complaint, Raaj Kumar Anand did Hawala Payments to China and evaded customs duty amounting to about Rs 7 crore on various imports. The Hon’ble Court has taken cognisance of the offence vide order dated 11.08.2023,” the agency had said on 3 November, 2023.
“During the search operations, evidences relating to unaccounted business investments and hawala payments sent to China during 2023 were recovered from key employees of Raaj Kumar Anand,” it added.
Anand has been with Kejriwal since 2011, when the anti-corruption movement was in full swing, and, referring to the Delhi CM’s speeches at Ramlila Maidan, alleged that contrary to changing the politics of the country, the politicians themselves had changed.
“I had signed up with Kejriwal on his idea that India’s politics will change but eventually realised that rather, politicians including him have changed,” he told ThePrint.
“Secondly, I have seen AAP not respecting Dalits which has made me uncomfortable and now I am feeling relieved, after having resigned from the party and the government,” he added.
Responding to Anand’s allegations, AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta attributed his resignation and departure to his failure to endure harassment and raids by the ED.
“Raaj Kumar ji is a good person as well as a successful businessman and maybe he could not withstand the harassment and raids by the ED that our leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia have endured over the years,” Gupta told ThePrint.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
Also Read: Eyeing national role, why AAP has made Bhagat Singh’s legacy the centerpiece of its politics