’Finance Minister Lied,’ Says Arvind Kejriwal After Arun Jaitley Denies CBI Raid

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 15, 2015:  Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha today that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office has not been raided by the Central Bureau of Investigation or CBI. Mr Kejriwal alleged that Mr Jaitley "lied in Parliament."

 

When Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien brought up the Tuesday morning raids at the Delhi Secretariat in Parliament, Mr Jaitley said, "Mr Derek O’Brien has not been correctly informed. The office of the chief minister of Delhi has not been raided. The raid has nothing to do with Mr Arvind Kejriwal or his tenure as chief minister."
   
The searches, Mr Jaitley said, were "on at 14 places against an officer who is attached to the chief minister’s office...regarding a complaint for an offense committed before he joined Mr Kejriwal’s office."
   
The CBI said it searched the office of Rajender Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. Sources in the CBI say the agency was "legally not required to inform" Mr Kejriwal about the raids.
    Soon after Mr Jaitley’s statement, opposition members entered the well of the house and raised slogans like "federalism bachaao (save federalism)", forcing the chair to adjourn the Rajya Sabha. Uproar over the raids forced multiple adjournments.
   
"FM lied in Parliament. My own office files are being looked into to get some evidence against me. Rajender is an excuse (sic)," tweeted Mr Kejriwal minutes after Mr Jaitley spoke in Parliament.
   
Earlier this morning, the Delhi chief minister had said that his office had been raided by the CBI and attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a series of tweets. "When Modi cudn’t handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice (sic)," a furious Mr Kejriwal tweeted and also said "Modi is a coward and a psycopath (sic)."
   
Union minister Venkaiah Naidu shot back, "It has become the fashion that he blames the PM for everything. CBI is an independent organization." BJP lawmaker Vijender Gupta said Mr Kejriwal has used "abominable" language for the PM.
   
Condemning the raid, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Sealing of a Chief Minister’s office is unprecedented. I am shocked." "Mamata Di. This is undeclared emergency," replied Mr Kejriwal.
   
IAS officer Rajender Kumar has been accused by a colleague of favouring a particular firm in getting tenders from Delhi government departments, the CBI said. Foreign currency worth Rs. 3 lakh and Rs. 2.4 lakh in cash were found during raids at his home this morning. Mr Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party said Rajender Kumar "is an honest officer. He is being targeted because he works with Arvind Kejriwal."
   
Since AAP took power in February after winning a massive mandate in Delhi, it has been locked in a running feud with the Centre over the control of important functions like law and order, police and land. Earlier this week Mr Kejriwal had told NDTV, "I don’t know if there is political vendetta or not in this case  (National Herald Case) but definitely BJP is targeting us."

 

Courtesy: NDTV