K Kavitha’s Arrest: ED Says AAP Leaders Are Co-Conspirators In The Excise Policy Scam; AAP Reacts

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday stated that Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia are K Kavitha’s co-conspirators in the Delhi Excise policy scam case. Dismissing the probe agency’s claims, AAP said that the charges are ED’s “desperate attempt” to defame the image of both leaders.

K Kavitha, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and daughter of former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was arrested by the probe agency last week and she is in their custody till March 23.

In a statement, ED alleges that Kavitha along with others conspired with the top leaders of the AAP including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for receiving favours in the Delhi excise policy-formulation and implementation. Besides, Kavitha paid Rs. 100 crore to the leaders of AAP, the agency said. The probe agency added that it had strong evidence against the BRS leader.

“On earlier occasions too, ED has released such blatantly false and frivolous statements which show that instead of being a neutral investigative agency, it is working like a political wing of BJP,” AAP said in a statement.

Though ED’s statement presents no new fact or evidence, AAP adds that it reflects the agency’s frustration since they have not recovered “a single rupee or piece of evidence in this case” even after conducting over 500 raids and questioning thousands of witnesses. “Even the SC has discarded ED’s claim that any money trail of ₹100 Cr exists in this matter. The entire world knows by now that the entire Excise case is fake and without an iota of evidence,” the statement added.

Citing the electoral bond data, AAP further added in their statement that almost all the companies that have given electoral bonds to BJP were earlier raided by federal agency. It implies that when ED alleged companies of money laundering they transferred their “proceeds of crime” to BJP accounts quickly after being raided. Therefore, if the central agency is interested in tracing the proceeds of crime, “it exists in BJP’s accounts,” the party argued.

Regarding the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy scam case, the probe agency lodged six chargesheets and has arrested 15 people and stated to have traced “proceeds of crime” amounting Rs. 129 crore, as well as seizing assets of an equivalent amount.