New Delhi [India], May 10 : Aam Aadmi Party national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, on Sunday heaped praise on Punjab Minister and AAP leader Sanjeev Arora for choosing to face arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) rather than joining the BJP.
Following the arrest of Arora a day ago, the former Delhi Chief Minister claimed that the action was taken as the minister refused to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a post on X, Kejriwal applauded Arora's decision, stating that a person's character is tested during difficult times.
"A person's character is revealed in times of trouble. Sanjiv Arora preferred going to jail over joining the BJP. Salute to him," Kejriwal's post read.
Earlier today Aam Aadmi Party minister, Harbhajan Singh ETO criticised the Central government for the ED arrest of his colleague and alleged that central agencies were being used to pressure opposition leaders to join the BJP.
The AAP minister said, "This is an attempt to intimidate people into joining the BJP under 'Operation Lotus,' which we strongly condemn."
The MLA from Jandiala Assembly told ANI, "... Central agencies like the ED and CBI are being misused. Yesterday, our colleague Sanjeev Arora was arrested by the ED. This is an attempt to intimidate people into joining the BJP under "Operation Lotus," which we strongly condemn. Nationwide protests are taking place today. The same tactics used in Bengal are now being tried in Punjab to grab power, but the people of Punjab will not let this happen."
On Saturday, AAP convenor Kejriwal took a jibe at BJP saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi had once accused the newly appointed West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari of corruption. In the backdrop of the arrest of Punjab Minister Arora, Arvind Kejriwal alleged no action against leaders once accused of corruption by the BJP, while ED has raided several AAP leaders.
In a post on X, Kerjriwal wrote, "The Prime Minister himself had accused Suvendu Adhikari of corruption, and today he administered the oath of office for the CM position to the very same Suvendu Adhikari. The ED will not go after Suvendu Adhikari. The ED will take action against Sanjeev Arora, Arvind Kejriwal, and Manish Sisodia."
Meanwhile, a special court in Gurugram has remanded Punjab Minister Arora to seven days' Enforcement Directorate custody in a money laundering case linked to alleged fraudulent Goods and Services Tax (GST) transactions over Rs 100 crore. Arora was sent to the ED custody hours after the agency arrested him on May 9 from Chandigarh and produced him before the court for seeking custodial interrogation.
Arora was arrested following a day-long search at his four premises, including his residence, his associated entities, and one office premises belonging to Hampton Sky Realty Limited (HSRL), which is also under the agency's scanner in the case.
The ED's action was part of an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) recorded by it on May 5 this year.
During the investigation, the ED said, HSRL is found to be "beneficially owned and controlled by Sanieev Arora and his family members, with Kavya Arora, son of Sanjeev Arora, as Managing Director, along with Hemant Sood, Chander Sekhar, Findoc Finvest Pvt Ltd and others.
ED further said HSRL sold mobile phones worth Rs 157.12 crore during the Financial Year 2023-24, to several local and overseas entities. "Sanjeev Arora was the Chairman and Managing Director of HISRL and was responsible for the conduct of the business of the company when the aforesaid illicit transactions took place," accused the ED in remand copy.