Sanjay Singh Arrested: AAP Gets I.N.D.I.A. Bloc's Support; BJP Says 'Kingpin' Kejriwal Next in Line

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday came down heavily on the BJP after the arrest of MP Sanjay Singh in the alleged Delhi liquor scam and said the ruling party cannot tolerate those who are raising voices against them.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party said they will fight the leader’s arrest legally. Opposition parties including Congress in the I.N.D.I.A. bloc hit out at the BJP over Singh’s arrest alleging misuse of central agencies to crush the dissent voices.

The BJP hit back saying those who are involved in wrongdoings won’t be spared and added that it is now Kejriwal’s turn to go behind bars.

AAP Says Will Fight Legally

Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said the arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. “This shows Modi Ji’s desperation. They will arrest many more opposition leaders,” he said.

Kejriwal, who visited Singh’s residence in the night, said agencies have conducted thousands of raids but they did not find any money.

“They (ED officials) searched his entire house but nothing was found and he was arrested in the evening. Elections are coming and after the formation of the INDIA alliance, PM Modi is desperate… They will arrest many people till 2024. Sanjay Singh is a lion…We file a case in court,” he said.

Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi said that the central government and their agencies are not able to prove any corruption of even a rupee in the case. She said Singh was arrested as the BJP is afraid of those who raise voices against them.

“This shows that the BJP is afraid of AAP. It shows that PM Modi knows in the upcoming Lok Sabha election they are going to lose,” she said.

AAP leader Somnath Bharti said Sanjay Singh was arrested for being vocal in Parliament. “BJP is fearing defeat in the 2024 elections. It was the darkest day of democracy,” he said.

Delhi Minister and party’s MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said Sanjay Singh has been arrested without any evidence or concrete reason. “It proves that the PM knows that he is losing the elections. There is desperation and fear of loss out of which the Central Government is making central agencies do such things,” he said.

I.N.D.I.A. Bloc Slam BJP Govt

Congress leader Randeep Surjewala alleged that the ED has become the ‘Election Department’ of BJP.

“Sanjay Singh is an MP who has questioned the Modi government repeatedly. Such actions against him can’t be acceptable,” he said.

Delhi Congress President Arvinder Singh Lovely said Congress doesn’t support any type of irregularities and action should be taken against those found guilty in liquor policy case.

“If any person is found involved then the person should be arrested. But if a person is being arrested on the basis that he/she is not cooperating in the investigation, then it is a misuse of the agencies. Investigative agencies cannot be used to fulfil political agendas,” he said.

Janata Dal (United) spokesperson KC Tyagi said Singh’s arrest is an attempt to silence him. “Opposition leaders are facing continuous pressure. Sanjay Singh is a strong voice from the opposition parties in Rajya Sabha, and this arrest is an attempt to silence him,” he said.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh condemned Sanjay Singh’s arrest and said the BJP has made ED their political weapon. “It’s an attempt to silence a strong leader like him,” he said.

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the ED has become the right hand of the BJP. “They cannot compete with the opposition. They are scared after the formation of the INDIA alliance,” she said.

Bihar Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “Today Sanjay Singh has been arrested and I have also heard that the fifth summon has been sent to (Jharkhand CM) Hemant Soren…I didn’t even have a moustache at that time but my name was added in the supplementary charge sheet (in the alleged land-for-jobs scam case). So nothing will happen, we will fight and win.”

RJD MP Manoj Jha said, “It is not the ED that has arrested Sanjay Singh, he has been arrested by the unit of BJP that comprises ED-IT-CBI. Dark days have begun…In this era of dictatorship, jo dar gaya wo mar gaya. The dictators themselves are scared. This fear will be retaliated against soon.”

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said, “It is not a new thing. The sad thing is that the people who have been elected by the people are doing injustice… Unemployment and inflation have increased in the last 10 years and they (BJP) did not fulfil the promises they made in their election manifesto…All the opposition parties are opposing it. Not only opposition leaders but BJP leaders are also saying that it is wrong…”

Kejriwal is Kingpin of Liquor Scam: BJP

Delhi BJP President Virendraa Sachdeva said one thing is clear the truth cannot be hidden. “After Sanjay Singh, it’s Arvind Kejriwal,” he said.

BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia said the public of the nation and Delhi has understood that if there’s a kingpin in the Liquor scam it is Arvind Kejriwal on whose indications the liquor scam in Delhi took place.

“On the indication of Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh says ‘give Rs 32 lakhs to the AAP Party’. An MP does ‘vasooli’ sitting at the CM’s residence…There could be crores of rupees and it has come across during the investigation…,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said when Sanajy Singh is arrested, they are playing the same victim card as played earlier by Manish Sisodia. “The court has not given him relief till now…If you are honest, then why the FIR that was filed in August 2022 was not quashed… If there is no scam, then why did you go back to the old policy?” he asked.

BJP MP from Northeast Delhi Manoj Tiwari said, “The way they used to write letters made it seem that there was nobody as honest as them. Today, their co-accused have turned approvers… Sanjay Singh’s arrest in this liquor scam shows that the flame will not remain only on Sanjay Singh or Manish Sisodia or Satyendar Jain. Arvind Kejriwal seems to be their kingpin and the flames will reach him.”

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)