Arvind Kejriwal was spying on Enforcement Directorate officials and the probe agency has found evidence of it, sources have said.
The Enforcement Directorate claimed that they recovered 150-pages document including names of probe agency officials during raids at Kejriwal's residence. They are likely to take action in this regard. The Enforcement Directorate has also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court, requesting that their side be heard before any decision is made on Arvind Kejriwal’s petition.
This was after the Supreme Court agreed to urgently hear Arvind Kejriwal's plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liqour policy case. A special bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Bela Dwivedi will hear the arrested Delhi Chief Minister's plea.
The probe agency is likely to produce evidence against the Delhi Chief Minister for the first time today. They have recorded statements of Goa AAP candidates who alleged that they were paid cash to fight elections, reports 'India Today'.
The probe agency further alleges that this is the same money which was received by AAP in the liquor policy scam from south cartle.
Arvind Kejriwal was on Thursday arrested amid dramatic circumstances after a team of the Enforcement Directorate arrived at his residence to interrogate him and conduct searches in connection with the liquor policy case. He was then taken to the agency’s headquarters and a medical team also arrived at the ED office.
On the arrest of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal by the ED, BJP leader Bansuri Swaraj says, "The ED has been asking Arvind Kejriwal to come and cooperate in the investigation. But he kept making excuses and went to a 10-day Vipassana workshop. Arvind Kejriwal himself has created this situation and all of this has nothing to do with the elections...".
Of course the latest developments have given a platform for India's opposition parties to 're-unite' once again.
However, analysts say even without the criminal investigations targeting its most prominent leaders including AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, few expect the Opposition INDI bloc to make inroads against PM Narendra Modi, who remains roundly popular a decade after first taking office.
The general refrain is Modi's re-election is seen as a foregone conclusion, partly due to the resonance of his assertive Hindu-nationalist politics with the members of the country's majority faith.
Time goes around and often can leave the stakeholders stunned. Hence, we often hear - what is inevitable does not happen. In contrast, what 'happens' is accident.
Arvind Kejriwal and fellow comrades likes of Kiran Bedi, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan shot into fame during the UPA regime when all participated in a massive anti-corruption crusade under the leadership of Gandhian Anna Hazare.
Politically, Hazare was shown the door as Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan stole limelight in 2013 Delhi assembly polls. Kiran Bedi fell into BJP's hands in 2015 and was made 'face' of the campaign in Delhi assembly polls. Arvind Kejriwal was too good winning 67. That was the era of AK-67 !
Prophets of doom from Sickular brigade wrote off Narendra Modi-Amit Shah duo. English media was more than jubilant. Kejriwal rewarded 'seculars'. Journalists became members of governing bodies in educational institutions here and there.
Kejriwal became more ambitious. Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav were thrown out of the party. He also questioned Narendra Modi's educational qualifications. The political turf turned personal, and bitter.
2011-12 politics Flashback ::: Do not miss !!
The political fallout of the Anna - led stir could already be felt in the by - elections of 2012 wherein the Congress drew a blank. It did not have much to cherish as its ally NCP under Sharad Pawar lost an assembly seat in the backyards of Maharashtra.
The enthusiastic BJP, basking in the glory of the Anna agitation and the simultaneous sharp decline in Congress popularity graph, hailed the verdict as “people’s victory against corrupt Congress”.
To top it all, Rahul Gandhi’s refusal to meet the ‘Sarpanch’ of Anna’s village, Jaisingh Mapari and Hazare’s personal secretary Suresh Pathare among others only resulted in curious signals. In between, the loose canon of Congress Digvijaya Singh dashed off more than one letter to Anna accusing him of RSS connections.
On his part, Anna has denied such a connection even though RSS leader Suresh Joshi maintained that Hazare’s complete distancing himself from the RSS would be erroneous.
The drama would unfold further as the elections to five states Punjab, Manipur, Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh to top it all draws nearer.
The purported division in Team Anna will only bring to light how the aging Gandhian will handle the ‘real political battle’ as his movement though apolitical has put the ruling Congress party in the dock; and done it quite convincingly.
It is needless to add that so much is the enthusiasm in the BJP camp due to the same that the party veteran L K Advani, though he was rejected in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, has started a nationwide ‘Yatra’ to reap the electoral benefits.
Team Anna’s game plan vis-à-vis elections was taken seriously even by the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who took the opportunity to field questions on these recent elections, far away in Pretoria in Brazil.
Manmohan Singh had said, “One by - election cannot be considered a referendum on the performance of my government.”
On October 12th, 2011 Prashant Bhushan was violently attacked by the activists of a little known outfit known as Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena in the Supreme Court premises in full view of a television crew.
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| Bhushan attack: Recorded 2011 by TV crew |
Just when the anti - Congress theme of Anna’s stir is seemingly becoming obvious, Hazare himself has clarified that if the government brings a strong Lokpal, there was no reason on why he should still oppose Congress.
But the purported differences within Team Anna actually on different issues are coming to focus. In a clear snub to his compatriot, Prashant Bhushan’s plebiscite line on Kashmir, Anna Hazare has rather taken a virtual ‘Sangh Parivar’ line - perhaps also unlike the Gandhian spirit of forgiveness - and said, “…. I am ready to take part in war against Pakistan.”
In what is described as his disapproval of Bhushan’s line on plebiscite in Kashmir, Anna, a former military man, recently wrote in his blog:
“Some people talk incoherently about Kashmir related issues ……… (but) Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so.”
Finally, all these areas that Anna Hazare, Rahul Gandhi or BJP are talking about are grey in nature - one can not find everything white or everything black. The goons in Delhi and Lucknow are (were) wrong for trying to attack members of Team Anna.
Whether it is Team Anna or the likes of Rahul or Advani, all these men have to deal with the immense challenge of confronting the ‘compulsion’ to be right.
The higher one’s standing is; the bigger is the stake.
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| Candid story teller: Yours Blogger |
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