The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are at loggerheads over the arrest of MLA Amanatullah Khan by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to financial irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board as the former has called him as ‘revolutionary who won't surrender before a dictator’, while the latter has said that if there are any allegations against him, then the court would decide on it. Reacting to the news of the arrest of senior AAP leader, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday criticised the Centre for allegedly "misusing" agencies to harass the AAP leaders, describing it as "open hooliganism" and claimed the investigative agencies have till date found no evidence against his party leader in the alleged money laundering case.
Questioning the central agency’s raid at Khan’s residence in Okhla, the senior AAP leader asked, “He lives in a three-room flat in Okhla. His mother, who is suffering from cancer, was seen lying on a bed during the search. How many times will you go there to search and harass the family?" With Delhi assembly elections expected to be held early next year, Bharadwaj further said the BJP's downfall has begun and people will soon give the party a befitting reply.
Meanwhile, accusing the AAP of having corrupt and criminal individuals, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said, “AAP leaders behave like birds that rush to peck at grain, forgetting that there is also a trap around, and that trap does its job. Amanatullah Khan has fallen into the legal trap for illegally recruiting people in the Delhi Waqf Board and misusing funds that could have been spent on public welfare.”
He added that AAP has a long list of criminals and corrupt individuals, and whenever action is taken against them, they start making noise. “Once again, that drama has unfolded before everyone,” Sachdeva claimed, adding that in India, the rule of law prevails, and whenever you loot, steal, or indulge in corruption, you will have to answer for it.
New Delhi BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj held ED’s raid at the AAP MLA’s house as a valid legal step and claimed that the AAP leaders are engaged in ‘propoganda, publicity and corruption’ instead of working towards the welfare of the people.
“Amanatullah Khan faces several serious allegations. During his tenure as the Chairman of the Waqf Board, he made illegal recruitments and misused funds meant for social and public welfare, which was being investigated by the CBI. Today, the ED has arrested him as part of a legal process. However, it is an old habit of the AAP to be completely immersed in propaganda and corruption, and they have done no work for the people,” Bansuri asserted, adding that no one is above the law, and thus, Amanatullah Khan is accountable for why he looted the Waqf Board.
Northwest Delhi BJP MP Yogendra Chandolia claimed that the MLAs and councillors of the AAP in Delhi are all corrupt. “When the investigating agency arrested him today, he started making a fuss. In reality, AAP leaders are habitual offenders and are used to making noise,” he added.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Delhi assembly Vijender Gupta questioned the AAP, asking why they are compelled to shelter such criminal-minded people. “When he was the Chairman of the Waqf Board, four members of the board filed complaints against him, but it is regrettable that AAP members themselves are trying to protect him,” he said.
