The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted raids at the residence and office of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with a money laundering case. The ED officials seized several documents and electronic devices from the premises and questioned Kejriwal for over four hours.
The ED case is based on an FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in 2022, accusing Kejriwal and his associates of misappropriating funds received from foreign donors for his NGO, Parivartan. The CBI had alleged that Kejriwal and his NGO had violated the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and had not disclosed the source and purpose of the funds.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) condemned the ED raids and claimed that they were part of a political conspiracy to malign and arrest Kejriwal ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, where the party is contesting. Several AAP ministers and leaders staged a protest outside Kejriwal's residence and accused the central government of misusing the ED and the CBI to target the opposition.
AAP spokesperson Raghav Chadha said that the ED raids were a "desperate attempt" by the BJP to stop Kejriwal from campaigning in the poll-bound states. He said that the ED had no evidence against Kejriwal and was acting on the instructions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. He also said that the ED had raided Kejriwal's residence and office earlier in 2019 and 2020, but had found nothing incriminating.
Chadha said that Kejriwal was not afraid of the ED or the CBI and would continue to fight for the rights of the people. He said that the people of the country were watching the "political witch-hunt" and would give a befitting reply to the BJP in the elections. He also said that the AAP was ready to face any legal challenge and would cooperate with the agencies.
The BJP, however, dismissed the AAP's allegations and said that the ED raids were a part of a lawful investigation and not a political vendetta. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said that Kejriwal had no moral right to question the ED or the CBI and should instead answer the charges of money laundering and corruption. He said that Kejriwal had betrayed the trust of the people who had voted for him on the promise of honesty and transparency.
Patra said that Kejriwal had used his NGO as a front to receive illegal funds from foreign sources and had not disclosed them to the authorities. He said that Kejriwal had also misused the funds for his personal and political gains and had violated the FCRA norms. He said that the ED and the CBI were doing their duty and would bring Kejriwal to justice. He also said that the BJP was confident of winning the elections in the three states and would expose the AAP's "false claims" and "failed governance".