New Delhi [India], March 28 : Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has only included those statements that were against CM Arvind Kejriwal and removed those that were not against him.
"No statement was against Arvind Kejriwal, hence, new statements were taken again and again...In the 25,000-page ED file, only those statements have been included that are against Arvind Kejriwal, the statements that are not against him have been removed," Bharadwaj said at a press conference on Friday as the Rouse Avenue Court granted an extension of Kejriwal's custody till April 1.
Bharadwaj said that the ED initially objected to Arvind Kejriwal speaking in court on Friday but later he was allowed to speak.
Kejriwal said in court that the case has been going on for two years, and no allegations have been proven.
Kejriwal said that out of 162 witnesses the ED has examined, his name appears in only four places.
"The first statement is from C Arvind, who said that excise documents were handed over to him. Is this statement enough to arrest the Chief Minister?" Bharadwaj said.
C Arvind was the secretary of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
"The second statement is from Jagan Reddy's party MP MSR, who had written a letter asking for permission to come and meet him. He came for a meeting as he wanted to open a charitable trust in Delhi," Bharadwaj said.
"On September 16, 2022, there was a raid at his (MSR) place and after five months his son was arrested. He stuck to his old statement. But on July 16, 2023 he changed his statement. On July 18, his son was released," the Delhi Minister added, suggesting a quid pro quo in changing the statement.
Arvind Kejriwal also mentioned the third statement, that of MSR's son, Raghav Reddy. "In six out of seven statements, he does not speak against Arvind Kejriwal. Arvind Kejriwal asked, how can only the seventh statement be considered correct," Bharadwaj said.
"In the case of Sharad Reddy, the Chief Minister said that nothing was found against him during the raid and interrogation. Even in his nine statements during his arrest, he did not say anything against Arvind Kejriwal. He remains in jail for six months and on April 25, he gives a statement that Arvind Kejriwal had asked him to stay in touch with Vijay Nair," the Minister said.
Bharadwaj also said that Arvind Kejriwal asked in court if a sitting Chief Minister can be arrested based on these four statements.