New Delhi: In a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the CBI raid on his office, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday that the entire exercise was done to erase proofs of alleged DDCA scam and save Finance Minister Arun Jaitely's involvement into the matter.
Addressing the Delhi Assembly, Kejriwal said, "PM Narendra Modi on December 15 got "conducted" CBI raids solely to "protect" Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the affairs of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA)."
Launching his fiercest attack yet on the Prime Minister, Kejriwal said, "I demand Narendra Modi's resignation for the fraudulent CBI raid."
Calling December 15, when CBI conducted the raid at the office of his Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar, a "black day", Kejriwal tore into Modi and dared him to act against Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, his Rajasthan counterpart Vasundhara Raje and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Kejriwal also defended Rajendra Kumar against allegations of graft committed in his official capacity under the erstwhile Sheila Dikshit government.
"He's being mentally harassed. CBI has got nothing against him in the last eight days. If I can remove my minister and babu for committing corruption, it is also my duty to protect honest officers," he said participating in a discussion in the state Assembly on the situation arising out of the raid at the Delhi Secretariat and alleged corruption in Delhi and District Cricket Association under Jaitley's watch.
“If CBI raid happened on my Principal Secretary, what was the need to come to my office?” asked Arvind Kejriwal.
Demanding PM Modi's resignation, Kejriwal said, “Rajender Kumar was an excuse, I was the target.”
"Today is the 8th day, for 6 days Rajendra Kumar was interrogated for hours. I want to ask PM, what did he get? Nothing," he added.
He further said, “When I meet PM, I only tell him one thing-that we don't need money or land, just stop hampering our work.”
"I’ll take PM’s projects like Swacch Bharat forward in Delhi, will give PM all the credit. But they should just stop troubling us," Kejriwal said.
Citing A Raja's example, the Delhi CM said, "BJP ministers in the Parliament stood up and said that Mr Jaitley is innocent. Just like that, tomorrow A Raja will bring his four ministers and say he is innocent. This country has some law and order and it must be followed."
Sharpening his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kejriwal said, "The memory of losing elections in Delhi still haunts the prime minister and his “blood boils hearing my name.”
However, the Delhi CM reiterated that his party will not be deterred by the lawsuits, and will continued to further attack the Finance Minister.
Kejriwal further poked fun at PM Modi for wearing a Rs 10 lakh suit last year, and demanded to know how a "chai wala" (tea seller) could afford such a costly suit.
The AAP leader denied accusations that his party had earlier advocated independence for the CBI but had now done a U turn.
"Even today we say that the CBI should be independent. And the day it becomes independent, it will not raid Rajendra Kumar... It will send a notice to Modi to ask where you got Rs 10 lakh to buy the suit. The CBI is not independent. Don't fool the people," Kejriwal said.
The Delhi High Court meanwhile issued notice to Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders in a defamation suit filed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Jaitley has sought Rs 10 crore in damages following the Aam Aadmi Party leaders' statements on alleged financial irregularities in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA).
Jaitley headed the DDCA for 13 years till 2013.
Addressing BJP MPs earlier in the day, PM Modi said Jaitley would come out in "flying colours" from the episode -- just as veteran BJP leader LK Advani did when he was charged in the hawala case in the 1990s.
