Kejriwal keeps up attack on Centre over raid; ex-aides call it ‘drama’
 Delhi chief minister Kejriwal called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “psychopath” and “coward” after the CBI raid, triggering a torrent of criticism from BJP leaders in the latest clash between the central and the Delhi governments. (Sonu Mehta/HT Photo)Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday took a swipe at the Centre, saying the CBI search at the Delhi secretariat was aimed at a file connected to union finance minister Arun Jaitley and his links with the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). Jaitley refused to comment on the issue beyond terming Kejriwal’s charge as “rubbish”. The remark came after Kejriwal called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “psychopath” and “coward” after the CBI raid, triggering a torrent of criticism from BJP leaders in the latest clash between the central and the Delhi governments. Kejriwal’s tirade against the NDA government on Twitter was backed by several opposition parties but an angry BJP demanded an unconditional apology from the chief minister for his language and accused him of protecting corrupt officials.  Police stand guard outside the Delhi Secretariat in New Delhi on December 15, 2015. (AFP)“CBI raids my office. When Modi couldn’t handle me politically, he resorted to this cowardice. Modi is a coward and a psycopath (sic),” the CM tweeted as several party leaders called the incident shameful. The agency refuted the charges, saying its investigators raided the office of senior bureaucrat and the chief minister’s secretary Rajendra Kumar for allegedly favouring private firms in state tenders. Raids were also conducted at 14 other places in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, sources added. Kejriwal’s critics said the former anti-corruption crusader was indulging in theatrics and playing the victim with claims of political vendetta. “I don’t know when the CBI got the complaint regarding the charges and when they registered the FIR. But merely because he (Rajendra) is raided and he happens to be the principal secretary and a trusted man of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal does not make the raid political vendetta,” senior advocate and former AAP leader Prashant Bhushan told ANI. Yogendra Yadav, also a former founding member of the party, called Tuesday’s happenings “a drama”. “Both allegations correct: BJP govt guilty of vendetta. AAP govt guilty of drama. Can they PLEASE spare the people and focus on governance!” (sic) Yadav tweeted.  Activists of Aam Admi Party stage a protest against the CBI raid at CM Arvind Kejriwal's office, at GPO in Lucknow on Tuesday. (PTI)Both Bhushan and Yadav were expelled from the party in April for alleged anti-party activities. They later formed a collective called Swaraj Abhiyan. The AAP administration has repeatedly accused the Centre of trying to run the city by proxy using lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung. The two sides have clashed on the appointment and transfer of senior bureaucrats and Delhi Police, which reports to the Union home ministry and not the city government. The fresh tussle has pushed on the back burner a war of words in the past few days between the two governments over a railways anti-encroachment drive at a slum cluster in the Capital during which an infant girl was allegedly killed. Tuesday’s dramatic raids came days after the Congress paralysed Parliament over the government’s alleged vendetta in the National Herald funds misuse case, where Sonia and Rahul Gandhi are accused of illegally acquiring property worth crores. Keriwal found support from the Trinamool Congress with its lawmaker Derek O’Brien attacking the raid as “unprecedented in the history of modern India” while speaking in Parliament, even as West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee expressed shock on Twitter. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose campaign was supported by the AAP during recent polls in his state, also criticised the CBI raid in a show of Opposition unity and possible alignment of anti-BJP parties ahead of the 2019 general elections. The BJP backed the Central Bureau of Investigation, saying the agency didn’t function under the Centre. “Kejriwal’s language was unwarranted, shameful and condemnable. We demand an unqualified apology for the baseless allegations,” said Union telecommunications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad. But the AAP chief scaled up his attack, alleging that the real motive of the raid was to “look at files related to corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association which has brought BJP leader and current finance minister Arun Jaitley under the scanner”. “I was about to set up a commission of inquiry (in the DDCA issue). They (CBI) wanted to look at that file,” he told reporters at the residence of his deputy, Manish Sisodia, where the CM and senior AAP leaders remained in a huddle through the day. “Rajendra Kumar is just an excuse, I am the real target. “ Jaitley, however, rejected Kejriwal’s allegations that there were financial irregularities when he was president of the DDCA for over a decade. “This morning’s statement appeared to be prima facie incorrect. But the evening one seemed to be absolutely rubbish and I do not think I need to respond to this rubbish,” he said. Sources say Kejriwal has been keenly pursuing the DDCA case after two former Test cricketers from the city and other functionaries pointed out irregularities in the sports body, which has hobbled from one controversy to another. “The DDCA is not registered under the Delhi government and it comes under section 25 of the Companies Act,” said the association’s treasurer, Ravinder Manchanda. The Delhi government has no jurisdiction over the DDCA. And we strongly object to the comments made by the Delhi government.”http://www.hindustantimes.com/india/kejriwal-keeps-up-attack-on-modi-jaitley-over-cbi-raid-ex-aides-call-it-drama/story-kj4V5AAsyBwvxEOhqsVFgK.htmlKejriwal strafes Modi |
| Pheroze L. Vincent |
.jpg) As Prakash climbed the stairs, he spotted some men in plain clothes, standing abreast at the two pathways to approach the office. "One of them said, 'Leave, a CBI raid is in progress'. I wasn't shown any paper or anything," Prakash said. Thus began one of the most explosive and acrimonious confrontations in contemporary politics, with Kejriwal calling the Prime Minister "a psychopath" and "a coward" and pitching himself to the forefront of the forces arrayed against Narendra Modi. CBI sleuths had descended on the third floor that houses the chief minister's office and blocked the entry points apparently to search the room of his principal secretary, Rajendra Kumar. Rajendra, a batchmate of Kejriwal in IIT Kharagpur, is considered the second-most powerful man in the Delhi government after the chief minister. The IAS officer is facing allegations of foul play in awarding government contracts valued at Rs 9.42 crore since 2007. The CBI had armed itself with a search warrant but had not informed the chief minister that it would be sealing access to his office floor. CBI sources later defended the agency by saying advance information defeats the very purpose of a search, although Kejriwal is not an accused but a chief minister who has taken an oath to keep such secrets. Kejriwal, said to be giving finishing touches to a plan to spread out beyond Delhi, grabbed the opportunity gifted by the CBI and its masters, concentrating his firepower on Modi. Minutes after Prakash was blocked, Kejriwal, who was at home, put out a series of tweets. The most vituperative one was "Modi is a coward and a psychopath", which was retweeted 5,400 times by the evening. Kejriwal had a field day on Twitter. Some samples: "CBI raids my office... When Modi cudn't handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice... CBI lying. My own office raided. Files of CM office are being looked into. Let Modi say which file he wants?" .jpg) Kejriwal responded: "Mamata Di. This is undeclared emergency." The CBI's timing could not have been worse: it came in the middle of allegations of political vendetta that have disrupted Parliament and paralysed legislative business. The Delhi raid reached Parliament, too. Replying to Trinamul's Derek O'Brien in the Rajya Sabha, finance minister Arun Jaitley clarified: "The raid has nothing to do with Mr Arvind Kejriwal. The raid has nothing to do with the tenure of Mr Arvind Kejriwal as the chief minister of Delhi. There is a corruption case. There is a complaint with the CBI against one officer in the Delhi government. The office of that officer is attached to the office of the chief minister." However, Delhi government sources said the chief minister's staff were kept out of their office by CBI sleuths. Some junior Delhi government officials were asked by the CBI to fish out files from the rooms of Rajendra as well as Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia claimed. By noon, Kejriwal had reached Sisodia's bungalow, which was earlier occupied by then chief minister Sheila Dikshit. The AAP leadership went into a huddle and Kejriwal continued to tweet from the house, 2km from the secretariat. "FM (finance minister) lied in Parliament. My own office files are being looked into to get some evidence against me. Rajendra is an excuse," the chief minister tweeted. " Rajendra bahana hai, Kejriwal nishana hai (Rajendra is the excuse, Kejriwal is the target)," became a refrain among AAP leaders. At 6.30pm, Kejriwal stepped out and upped the ante. "It has become necessary to say why the CBI came today and which was the file they were looking for. This is the DDCA file in which Arun Jaitley is getting trapped," the chief minister said. The DDCA is the Delhi and District Cricket Association, of which Chetan Chauhan is working president and Jaitley is a former president. Chauhan is believed to be a Jaitley supporter. Some cricket veterans had met Kejriwal in August and complained about mismanagement of the DDCA, following which the government ordered a probe. Kejriwal added: "Jaitley was the DDCA president for many years and I set up a committee to probe all the corruption that has taken place during his tenure. The committee has submitted its report and a commission of inquiry is going to be set up. This file is in my office." Jaitley dismissed the charge as "rubbish". By then, Kejriwal had looked straight at TV cameras, raised his voice and pointed his left index finger to warn his principal adversary: " Mein aapko bata doon, Modiji.... aakhri saans tak, mein mar mitoonga, desh ke liye ladta rahoonga lekin. Aur mein in Modiji ke CBI se, aur tut-panjiyon se, aur geedad-bhabkiyon se nahi darne wala. Yeh mein unko saaf saaf keh dena chahta hoon.... (I am telling you, Modiji.... I will fight till my last breath, till I die, but for my country I will keep on fighting. And I want to tell Modiji's CBI, his lackeys, that I am not scared of their jackal-like empty threats. I want to make this clear to them.)" Kejriwal added that he would apologise for his words if Modi did so for his deeds. |
Updated: December 16, 2015 03:15 IST
Unprecedented searches at Delhi Secretariat trigger Centre-AAP spat
- DEVESH K. PANDEY
- http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/unprecedented-searches-at-delhi-secretariat-trigger-centreaap-spat/article7993176.ece?homepage=true
![Rajender Kumar being taken to the CBI office on Tuesday. Photo: Special Arrangement]( "Rajender Kumar being taken to the CBI office on Tuesday. Photo: Special Arrangement")
Rajender Kumar being taken to the CBI office on Tuesday. Photo: Special ArrangementA Central Bureau of Investigation raid on the secretariat of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday morning triggered a political storm, with a united opposition accusing the Narendra Modi government of political vendetta using the CBI. Following the raid, the Delhi CM was locked out of his office for the day.The CBI and the Centre dismissed the allegations.“Reports from certain quarters regarding search at the office of Chief Minister, Delhi, are baseless. CBI emphatically denies having searched the office of CM, Delhi. False propaganda should not be used to impede our investigation,” the CBI spokesperson said in a statement.According to indications emerging from the CBI, the agency may seek custodial interrogation of the accused IAS official Rajender Kumar.‘Not cooperating’
“He has not been cooperating in the investigations. The official has not provided us access to his email accounts,” said a CBI official.![]()
The case has been registered under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) (criminal misconduct) read with Section 13(1)(d) (abuse of official position) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr. Kumar, a 1989-batch IAS official and Principal Secretary to the Delhi Chief Minister, has been named an accused.Among the other accused are Endeavour Systems Private Limited and its two directors Sandeep Kumar and Dinesh Kumar Gupta, besides A.K. Duggal and G.K. Nanda, former managing directors of public sector unit Intelligent Communication System India Limited (ICSIL) and its incumbent managing director R.S. Kaushik. ICSIL is a joint venture between the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd and the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.Raids follow five-,month investigation, says CBIThe high drama in Delhi started around 9 a.m. on Tuesday when CBI teams swooped down upon 14 places, including the official and residential premises of the Delhi Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar and the other six accused named in the corruption case.The CBI said the case was registered on Monday as a result of a five-month-long probe into a complaint by former Delhi Dialogue Commission member secretary Ashish Joshi.In April, the Kejriwal government had asked Mr. Joshi to relinquish the post, following which orders for his repatriation to the Central government were issued.In July, Mr. Joshi had lodged a complaint with Delhi’s Anti-Corruption Branch which transferred it to the CBI on his request. The complaint related to several Delhi government work contracts awarded to Endeavour Systems, mostly through ICSIL, allegedly without following set rules.The agency sources alleged that while working in various capacities from 2007 to 2014, the IAS official favoured the accused company bag contracts worth about Rs. 9.5 crore. During the morning searches, the agency seized papers regarding three immovable properties along with Rs.2.3 lakh in cash and foreign currency worth about Rs.3 lakh from Mr. Kumar’s premises. The CBI also seized Rs.10.5 lakh in cash from co-accused G. K. Nanda.
The case has been registered under Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13(2) (criminal misconduct) read with Section 13(1)(d) (abuse of official position) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr. Kumar, a 1989-batch IAS official and Principal Secretary to the Delhi Chief Minister, has been named an accused.