Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia Wednesday said agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were working at the BJP’s behest to topple elected governments of rival parties.
Tagging clips of the Indian Express’s report on the rise in ED cases against politicians, especially those belonging to anti-BJP parties, since the saffron party came to power at the Centre in 2014, Sisodia tweeted: “These days, the CBI and the ED are only working to execute ‘Operation Lotus’. In 95 per cent of cases, they have become a tool to topple elected state governments. How will the country progress like this.”
Apart from Sisodia, several other leaders from AAP reacted to the story and said that ED-CBI has become a tool for carrying out BJP’s ‘Operations Lotus’.
“Front Page – Indian Express. Central Govt using ED as political tool, 95% politicians targeted are from opposition and those who join BJP get relaxation from ED,” tweeted Saurabh Bhardwaj, AAP MLA from Greater Kailash.
Sisodia is one among several accused in the FIR filed by the CBI in the Delhi liquor policy scam. The central agency filed an FIR following a recommendation from Lieutenant Governor Vinai Saxena.
The CBI then raided Sisodia’s house, along with 30 other places across various states. The ED also registered a case in the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Last week, the ED launched search operations at 40 locations across the country linked to its money laundering probe in connection with the Delhi liquor policy. Searches were carried out in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore, Chennai and Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).
On September 6, the ED conducted searches at 35 locations across Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Jalandhar in the same case. The agency registered a case of money laundering in the matter in the first week of this month based on the CBI FIR against Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and 14 others.
Besides Sisodia’s house, the central agencies also raided his bank locker, his house in Ghaziabad and allegedly questioned the people from his village to see if he had bought any land.
