After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) searched the home of former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister Saurabh Bharadwaj as part of an alleged money laundering investigation, a political firestorm has broken out in Delhi. There are problems with the way hospitals are being built in the national capital, which is why there is an investigation. The raids, which started early Tuesday morning, hit 13 places in the Delhi-NCR area.
AAP Claims Political Revenge
Leaders of the AAP have strongly condemned the raids, calling the case “false” and “politically motivated.” Manish Sisodia, who used to be the Deputy Chief Minister, said that Bharadwaj was not a minister when the ED’s complaint was filed. This suggests that the whole investigation is pointless. He said that the raids were a way to “divert people’s attention” from the continuing debate about Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s educational degree.
Arvind Kejriwal, the leader of the AAP, agreed with this and said that the Union Government was “misusing” central agencies to go after his party, which he dubbed the “most vocal voice” against the government’s policies. Sanjay Singh and Atishi, two senior AAP leaders, have also spoken out. They say that the case against former minister Satyendar Jain, which the CBI eventually closed, is proof that cases against AAP politicians are made up.
The BJP is happy about the investigation.
BJP leaders, on the other hand, have praised the ED’s actions. Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said that the previous AAP government in Delhi was involved in “corruption of thousands of crores” in the building of hospitals. He further said that the current AAP government in Punjab was “looting” the state.
Harish Khurana, a senior of the BJP, said that the ED searches show that every department of the Kejriwal-led administration in Delhi is corrupt. The raids are happening because of a case filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch of the Delhi Police and are being done under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).
The original complaint, which was made in August 2024, said that there was a lot of corruption, unjustifiable cost increases, and theft of money in 24 hospital projects that the Delhi government approved between 2018 and 2019.