Advised to join BJP or be ready to be arrested: Atishi
Atishi claimed that she, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLA Durgesh Pathak and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha would be arrested
PTI
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Delhi minister Atishi
New Delhi, 2 April
Four senior AAP leaders, including
herself, would be arrested soon, Delhi minister Atishi said on Tuesday,
claiming the BJP approached her through a "very close" person to join
it or be prepared to be nabbed by the ED within a month.
At a press conference here, Atishi
claimed that she, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLA Durgesh Pathak and
Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha would be arrested. However, Delhi BJP Chief
Virendra Sachdeva claimed that Atishi was "lying". The entire Aam
Aadmi Party was involved in the "liquor scam" and its leaders were
fighting among themselves over the apprehension about who would be the next
"sacrificial lamb", he said.
Atishi further claimed that she had
been told that the Enforcement Directorate would conduct raids at her residence
and that of her kin in the coming days. After that, summons would be sent and
arrests would be made, she claimed. There is no reason for Arvind Kejriwal to
resign as Chief Minister because he has neither been charge-sheeted nor
convicted in the excise policy case. Moreover, he enjoys an "overwhelming
majority in the Delhi Assembly, she said.
If he resigns from the chief
minister post, it will become a "simple and straight standard operating
procedure" for the BJP to topple governments by sending chief ministers
behind bars in false cases, Atishi asserted.
"The BJP has realised that
sending only Kejriwal to jail would not lead to the disintegration of the AAP
and now it aims to get four second-line leaders of the party, including me,
Saurabh Bharadwaj, Raghav Chadha and Durgesh Pathak, arrested," she said. "I
was approached by the BJP through a person very close to me who asked me to
join the BJP to save and enhance my political career. Or I will be arrested
within a month."
Atishi claimed the BJP has been
rattled by the success of the INDIA bloc's Ramlila Maidan rally on Sunday and
by the AAP's protests against Kejriwal's arrest. "The BJP hoped AAP would
disintegrate after the arrest of its top leaders -- Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia,
Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain. But now it feels that the next top four
leaders need to be sent to jail," she said.
"I want to tell the BJP that
we are not going to be scared by your threats. We are soldiers of Kejriwal and
disciples of Bhagat Singh. We will fight to save the country and for the
betterment of the people till the last AAP volunteer," she asserted.
Bharadwaj termed the
"offer" to Atishi to join the BJP or get arrested an "open
threat. "Despite the arrest of four leaders, including Kejriwal, the AAP
is surviving. So now they want to send the next line of leaders (to jail). The
first would be me, next Atishi and then Raghav Chadha and Durgesh Pathak."
He asserted that the AAP has had
organic growth and the BJP should not be under the illusion that the party will
fall to pieces with the arrest of its top leader. "The BJP wants to win
over 400 Lok Sabha seats in the coming polls by sending people to jail,"
he charged.
Reacting to the AAP leaders'
remarks, the Delhi BJP chief said, "Since Kejriwal has stated that excise
policy case accused and AAP leader Vijay Nair, who is in jail, used to report
to Atishi and Bharadwaj, the AAP leaders are fighting among them. Atishi by
saving her skin has led Chadha and Pathak in trouble."
Bharadwaj said Nair had given his
statement one and half years ago and the BJP leaders were "using" it
now which showed the party's "absurd political strategy". Kejriwal,
arrested on March 21 by the ED in connection with a money laundering case
linked to the now-scrapped excise policy of his government, was on Monday sent
to judicial custody till 15 April by a city court.
The AAP has accused the BJP of
wanting to impose President's rule in Delhi by poaching its legislators and
breaking the party. The AAP's Kirari MLA Rituraj Jha claimed he was offered Rs
25 crore to join the saffron party.
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