Claiming that it had found “another link” between the witnesses in the alleged Delhi excise scam and the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday demanded that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) — if it claimed to be an “independent body” — investigate the links between the “South lobby” and the saffron party.
Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj noted that Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy — the father of Raghava Magunta Reddy who was arrested by the ED in connection with the case — has been fielded by the BJP’s ally, the Telugu Desam Party, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, thus proving a “direct nexus” between the BJP and the “South lobby”.
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“Magunta Reddy said in two statements that there was no discussion between him and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the excise policy but after his son’s arrest, he succumbed and gave a third statement against the CM. His son Raghava Magunta also did not mention the CM’s name in six statements but issued a seventh statement against him, and after being turned into a government witness, managed to secure bail,” Mr. Bharadwaj said.
“The ED should also investigate Magunta Reddy and Raghav Magunta’s direct association with the BJP. They will find details of their mutual phone calls dating back years. Even a small probe will separate fact from fiction,” he added.
Minister Atishi said that after the “exposition” of how Sarath Reddy, the director of Aurobindo Pharma, became an approver in the case and then donated money in the form of electoral bonds to the BJP, this was another “big revelation”.
“I challenge the ED, if it is an independent agency, to bring into record this connection and probe it,” Ms. Atishi said, alleging that the BJP had ties to the liquor traders of the “South lobby”.
“The ED must present the BJP’s relationship with the South’s liquor businessmen in front of the court by making BJP an accused in the chargesheet,” she added.
Mr. Kejriwal, who was arrested by the agency on March 21, had told Rouse Avenue court that there were statements against him by four individuals, based on which the ED had arrested him. Three of the four witnesses, the AAP said, were “revealed to be connected to the BJP”. The fourth, former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s secretary C. Aravind, only mentioned that some documents related to the excise policy were handed over to him at the Chief Minister’s residence, with no mention of financial transactions, said the party.
A close observation of the investigation revealed that every witness could have been “intimidated” until they provided statements against the Chief Minister, Ms. Atishi added.
