New Delhi:Lashing out at the Centre, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed that his government is a victim of “political witch hunt.” Mr Kejriwal, who had been muted in his criticism of the Narendra Modi government since his loss in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections last year, was in his old combative self. He claimed that the Centre had filed 14 cases of corruption against his ministers but failed to convict or arrest even a single one. He also accused the Prime Minister’s office (PMO) of stalling the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s work by threatening officers. Mr Kejrwial claimed that the officers are on strike for months with orders from the PMO.
“The officers have been on strike for four months. In private, the officers say there is no demand and that they are being threatened to continue the strike. It has been orchestrated by the PMO and coordinated by the L-G,” he said.
“People have been saying recently that Kejriwal has been silent for one year. I think they (Centre) have started to take undue advantage of my silence,” Mr Kejriwal said. He added that the investigative agencies of the central government had filed six corruption cases with the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and eight with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
“They filed a case against us for irregularities in setting up 1031 anti-corruption helpline. No arrests have been made. Another case was filed against our deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia for allegedly giving advertising contracts to his relatives. If that was the case, why is Manish Sisodia not behind bars? Why haven’t they arrested his relatives? The L-G gave several hours to (rebel AAP MLA) Kapil Mishra who said I accepted '2 crore as bribe. If that is the case, then go ahead and arrest Kejriwal,” the Delhi CM said.
Similarly, he added, eight CBI cases have been filed against various AAP ministers, including Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. “It is interesting to note that all these cases are politically motivated. Of the six ACB cases, one has been filed by a BJP lawyer, three by senior BJP leaders and one by the LG himself. The 8 CBI cases have been filed on the directions of the lieutenant-governor,” he said.
Mr Kejriwal alleged that these cases were being filed to halt the work of the Delhi government. “We achieved a lot in the last three years. BJP governments, which have been running for 10-15 years, have not achieved as much. People will ask what Modi Ji did for education and health in the last four years. To divert attention, they have started to attack Delhi Government. They have even asked for files related to mohalla clinics. Our officials are hauled up and abused. Instead of stopping us from making 1,000 mohalla clinics in Delhi, Modi Ji should make 10 lakh clinics across India!”
