New Delhi: Lodged at Tihar jail over charges of money laundering and extortion, conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar has said in a press statement that he will “contest” the Lok Sabha elections next year.
In the five-page statement issued Saturday through a Gurugram-based law firm, Sukesh has also alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) had “some connection with each other over the Delhi liquor excise policy scam”.
This is not the first time Sukesh has made claims about his alleged ties with politicians or celebrities without sufficient evidence to support them.
Earlier this week, Chandrasekhar had released his alleged WhatsApp chats with politicians, including AAP’s Satyendar Jain — who is also in Tihar in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam — BRS MLC K. Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana CM KCR.
On Saturday, he issued a press statement through the law firm representing him in court, clarifying the reasons behind making the WhatsApp chats public.
“This is to bring to everyone’s notice the chats released by my legal team after serving to Investigation Agencies 2 days ago (Wednesday). I have noticed that there were queries and doubts and mainly responses, which I would like to clear and even give my reaction for the response”, he said in the letter addressed to Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and K. Kavitha.
In the letter, which ThePrint has access to, Sukesh spoke about his political ambitions while responding to whether his decision to release the chats was politically motivated or if motivated by monetary gains.
Responding to these questions, he wrote, “No, none (sic) above, the truth is, as stated before, as I am contesting Lok Sabha elections next year, I feel, I want to come out clean, remove all these dirty secrets, the burden of these people from my mind, heart.”
“Before I start working for the people, or before I start asking for their mandate by voting for me. So, I am disclosing all these things on my own and not for any undue benefits as anyone thinks, or says, from anyone,” he added.
Also Read: ‘Paid Rs 10 cr to Satyendar Jain to stay safe inside jail,’ says conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar
Can Sukesh Chandrasekhar contest polls?
According to election laws, a person convicted of crimes in which a jail term of two or more years has been awarded, is disqualified from contesting elections.
However, a person who is not convicted is eligible to contest.
So, if Chandrasekhar is found guilty and convicted in the cases in which he is an accused and awarded at least two years of jail time, his political ambitions are unlikely to materialise.
Sukesh is currently behind bars over his alleged involvement in a number of cases, including one where he has been accused of extorting Rs 200 crore from the wife of the owner of a pharmaceutical giant by promising to get cases against her husband quashed.
Meanwhile, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) Saturday filed a chargesheet in another case of money laundering where Chandrasekhar has been accused of duping Japna Singh, the wife of Religare promoter Malvinder Singh, of Rs 3.5 crore.
(Edited by Richa Mishra)
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