Arguing his own case in Delhi's Rouse Avenue court in a rare move, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday asserted that the motive of the Enforcement Directorate was to crush the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal, who was brought to court after his six-day ED custody came to an end, said the ED's only mission was to "trap" him in the now withdrawn liquor policy case.
"I am not opposing the remand petition of the ED. The ED can keep me in custody for as many days as it wants. But this is a scam," the Delhi CM said.
"The ED had two objectives. One is to crush AAP, and the second is to create a smokescreen and run an extortion racket behind it through which they are collecting money," Kejriwal further said.
The Enforcement Directorate has sought a seven-day extension of the custody of Kejriwal for further interrogation in the money laundering case.
The AAP convenor, highlighting the ED's submission that the alleged liquor scam was worth Rs 100 crore, questioned the money trail. "If there is a liquor scam of Rs 100 crore, then where is that money? The real scam started after the ED's investigation," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal, who has been called the "kingpin of the liquor policy scam" by the ED, said there were no grounds for his arrest.
"I was arrested, no court has proved me guilty. The CBI has filed 31,000 pages and the ED has filed 25,000 pages. Even if you read them together, there is no reason why I have been arrested?" he said.
Reacting to this, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju said the Delhi CM was only playing to the gallery. "How does he know how many documents there are with the ED? This is all a figment of imagination," the ASG said.
The Delhi CM further claimed that Hyderabad-based businessman Sarath Chandra Reddy, whose name cropped up in the Delhi liquor policy case, donated Rs 55 crore to the BJP. "I have evidence of the racket that is going on. He donated Rs 50 crore to BJP after being arrested," Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal also pointed out that people were being "turned approver" in the case and people are being forced to change their statements.
The ASG said the probe agency had material to prove that Kejriwal demanded Rs 100 crore kickbacks. "The money that they say came to BJP has nothing to do with the liquor scam. There is no quid pro quo... CM is not above the law. He is an ordinary man," the ASG said.
The ED further said that Kejriwal has not disclosed the password of the mobile phone recovered from him. "If he does not cooperate, then we will have to open it (technically). Therefore, we need further remand. He is not cooperating," the ED said.
