Nod to prosecute Kejriwal a misuse of power by BJP: AAP

Says an attempt to defame the ruling party ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls

New Delhi: The AAP on Wednesday said the Home Ministry granting sanction to prosecute Arvind Kejriwal was a “misuse” of power by the BJP and an attempt to defame the ruling party ahead of the Delhi Assembly polls.

The Union Home Ministry has granted sanction to the Enforcement Directorate to prosecute the former Delhi Chief Minister in the excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.

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The federal agency filed a chargesheet against the 56-year-old politician before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here last year after arresting him in March.

The Aam Aadmi Party said the excise policy case registered in November 2022 was “unprecedented” as Kejriwal was arrested without any “sanction”. “What we are witnessing is an unprecedented case in the country’s history where the then Chief Minister, and convener of a national party ruling in two States, was jailed without a sanction, only to be granted bail by the courts,” the AAP, which is in power in Delhi and Punjab, said in a statement.

Kejriwal has been made an accused in his personal capacity as well as in the capacity of being the national convenor of his political party, the AAP, it said.

The Supreme Court had “remarked” that the ED-CBI were being used like “caged parrots” while the PMLA court “clearly noted” that there was “no evidence” against Kejriwal, said the party.

“It is now coming to light that all of this was being done without a prosecution sanction. Two years after the case was registered, the ED-CBI acting on BJP’s orders illegally jailed Kejriwal, and have only now gotten a sanction to prosecute him,” it said.

The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

The BJP jailed AAP leaders who later got bail and it became clear there was no evidence against them, charged the AAP. “Now they are seeking sanctions which they didn’t have. The BJP’s misuse of agencies is evident to everyone. This shows the extent of power misuse, especially with elections around the corner,” the party said.

The same old routine of filing false cases to defame the Aam Aadmi Party leaders is “clear as the day” but the public now sees through it, the party said. Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21, 2024, and released from jail after SC granted him bail in September last year.