He refused to join BJP: Kejriwal defends AAP leader Deepak Singla

Arvind Kejriwal defended arrested AAP leader Deepak Singla, alleging political targeting by the BJP through the ED, while the BJP accused the party of repeated financial wrongdoing involving several leaders facing corruption and money laundering investigations

New Delhi: AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday came out in defence of party leader Deepak Singla after he was arrested by the ED in an alleged money laundering case, claiming he was facing the repercussions of refusing to join the BJP.

The BJP said that it is not the first case of financial wrongdoing by leaders of AAP, which had claimed that it would deliver honest politics, and demanded that Kejriwal take action against Singla and Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora, who also has been arrested by the ED.

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Singla, the Aam Aadmi Party’s Goa co-incharge, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after searches in Delhi and Goa led to the alleged recovery of incriminating documents in a bank loan fraud-linked money laundering case, according to officials.

“Deepak Singla was not arrested because he did anything wrong. Rather, he was arrested because he was working against the BJP and refused to join the BJP. Deepak is brave and fighting for the country,” Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi.

Singla had also been a candidate for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from the Vishwas Nagar assembly seat. “After Punjab, Goa has now become the BJP’s next target. The BJP is doing this because it knows very well that people in Goa hate the BJP government,” Atishi, AAP’s Goa in-charge, said.

“The BJP is frightened that in the Goa Assembly elections to be held in February, the people are going to throw them out of power,” she said, It is out of fear of the growing popularity of AAP that the ED is conducting raids at the residence of Singla, she alleged. Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that the arrest of East Delhi AAP leader Singla following an ED investigation into a major bank scam has exposed yet another dark face of AAP.

“Delhiites are shocked by the case involving Deepak Singla’s bank loans worth hundreds of crores and the alleged illegal misuse of those funds, but this is not the first case of financial wrongdoing by an AAP leader,” Sachdeva said.

“From Satyendar Jain to Sanjeev Arora, numerous names and their alleged misdeeds have already come before the public,” he added. Singla was raided by the ED in 2024 too as part of an investigation.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal also praised arrested Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora, calling him “brave and patriotic”. “Sanjeev ji, you are brave. You are patriotic. Entire Punjab is proud of you,” Kejriwal said in another post on X in Hindi.

Arora, 62, was arrested by the ED on May 9 from his official residence in Chandigarh after raids were carried out against him in an alleged Rs 100 crore GST fraud case linked to the sale of mobile phones. He was sent to a two-week judicial remand by a Gurugram court on Monday after his ED custody ended.
Manish Sisodia, senior AAP leader and Punjab in-charge, lashed out at the Centre.

“By using institutions like the ED, CBI, and Election Commission as their personal goons, Modi may be able to stop opposition leaders from winning elections. “But he cannot handle the country’s economy or the falling value and dignity of the rupee,” he said.