BJP using probe agencies to crush Oppn: Atishi

Leader of Opposition in Delhi Assembly Atishi on Monday claimed that the ED arrested AAP leaders in the alleged liquor scam, but no money has been recovered by the probe agency till date.

She said, “Today, the Supreme Court made very sharp observations against the ED. The court directly asked why the ED is becoming a political weapon and why it is being used for political battles.” Explaining the Karnataka case, she said, “The ED issued summons to Karnataka CM’s wife. When those summons were challenged, the Karnataka HC quashed them. Despite that, the ED still went to the Supreme Court against the HC order.”

Referring to earlier criticisms by the SC, she said, “This is not the first instance where the SC has come down heavily on Central agencies. When the SC granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal, it had made equally sharp remarks, comparing these agencies to a ‘caged parrot’, stating his arrest was driven by political malice. Time and again, the SC has expressed concerns over the ED and CBI being used for political purposes.”

She said, “If we look at the record of ED and CBI over the past few years, there is a clear pattern. Sanjay Singh was arrested, followed by several other leaders. Yet, the agencies have failed to produce any proceeds of crime. The same was done with Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee and with the entire RJD leadership before the Bihar elections. The BJP’s Centre’s is running a deliberate conspiracy, using ED to file cases against every opposition leader and harass them one after the other.”