On Monday, the BJP and Congress applauded the arrest of Delhi government minister Satyendar Jain and demanded that he be removed from Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s cabinet.
According to officials from the investigating agency Enforcement Directorate, Mr. Jain was detained on Monday following a few hours of interrogation under criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA.
Adesh Gupta, the Delhi BJP chairman, claimed his party has previously addressed the subject of “corruption” by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders.
“(Arvind) Kejriwal has always been tight-lipped about allegations of corruption against his party’s leaders. People want Kejriwal to talk about Jain’s detention by the ED, which comes just days after an AAP minister was detained and ousted in Punjab, “Mr. Gupta said.
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The Delhi BJP president was alluding to Vijay Singla, the former Punjab Health Minister who was fired from the state Cabinet last week and detained immediately after.
Mr. Gupta added that although the AAP convener usually speaks about honesty, people now want to know when he would dismiss Mr. Jain from his Cabinet. Mr. Jain’s detention, according to Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar, was a “correct measure” by the investigation agency ED.
“Jain should have been detained a long time ago. For years, Kejriwal has been his protector, “Mr. Kumar said.
Manoj Tiwari, a Northeast Delhi MP and former Delhi BJP president, alleged that the Enforcement Directorate gathered evidence before arresting Mr. Jain. Mr. Kejriwal should now accept moral responsibility and resign.
“After Jain’s arrest, all AAP leaders protect him, but Kejriwal should quit and take responsibility for Jain’s activities,” Mr. Tiwari added.
The AAP officials, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and party MP Sanjay Singh, slammed the BJP, stating that Mr. Jain was detained in an eight-year-old “false” case because he is the AAP’s in charge of the Himachal Pradesh elections, which the BJP fears losing.
The ED had called Mr. Jain seven times, but he had never been detained. Mr. Singh said that the ED detained him in a “baseless” case to “defame” the AAP after being appointed in charge of the party in Himachal Pradesh.
