CBI raid: Arvind fires salvo, BJP retaliates
New Delhi: Dec 15
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Dec 15 termed CBI’s clarification as a blatant lie and said the agency should have raided the education department and not the Chief Minister’s office.
Speaking to media this evening, he said, the CBI was actually looking for a file on Delhi District Cricket Association where there are irregularities.
He said, Arun Jaitley is in the dock in the DDCA files. Kejriwal said, he was about to order a commission of enquiry on the files.
He questioned why CBI is not interrogating other officers and the ministers in the Sheila Dikshit government if it wants to know about allocations in 2007.
However, the CBI has reiterated that reports from certain quarters regarding search at Delhi Chief Minister’s office are completely baseless.
Speaking to media in New Delhi , CBI spokesperson Devpreeet Singh said from 2007 to 2014 Rajendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Delhi Chief Minister, along with 6 other officials have misused their position to award contracts.
She said, after obtaining warrant from the competent court, the searches by the agency are in progress in 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Earlier, the agency conducted searches at the office of the Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today.
According to CBI sources, a corruption case has been registered against Rajendra Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Delhi Chief Minister on the allegation that he misused his official position to favour a particular firm in getting tenders from various Delhi government departments.
Meanwhile, the BJP has demanded an apology from Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for using derogatory words against Prime Minister after CBI raided the office of Principal Secretary to Delhi Chief Minister.
Senior BJP leader and Union Minister of Communications and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad said, such comments are totally uncalled for, unwarranted and shameful.
He reminded that just few days back, CBI caught Delhi government’s principal secretary on corruption charges and Kejriwal government tried to take credit for it.
Prasad said, now Kejriwal is leveling accusations against the same CBI. He said, this is clear case of double standards and hypocrisy.
Prasad said, CBI has already clarified that Delhi Chief Minister’s office has not been raided. He said, CBI’s raid came after proper search warrant from the court.
He said, unfortunately, a textbook case of corruption is being given political colour.
The Minister said, it is not an attack on federal structure as suggested by AAP and questioned where corruption comes in the way of federalism.
Prasad also questioned how someone like Kejriwal, who rose from the ranks of an anti-corruption movement to become chief minister, failed to perform due diligence in appointing an honest officer as secretary.
He implored that the CBI must be allowed to conduct its investigation in a free and fair manner. He said, according to law, there is no need for the CBI to seek permission before carrying out any raid.
