On 2nd April, a day after Arvind Kejriwal threw Atishi Marlena and Saurabh Bharadwaj under the bus, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi claimed in her so-called “big expose” that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to poach her through her close associate.
She claimed if she refused to do so, the Enforcement Directorate would raid her’ and her relatives’ houses in the next month. She further claimed ED would arrest her in the next month if she refused to join the BJP. She also claimed that the BJP gave her a lollipop of a better political career if she joined the party.
Senior AAP Leader and Minister @AtishiAAP Addressing an Important Press Conference l LIVE https://t.co/N6FA8olWp8
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) April 2, 2024
She said, “My close associate told me that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP have decided to crush AAP and all its leaders. First, they arrested the top leadership of the party. First, Satyendra Jain was arrested, then Manish Sisodia was arrested, then Sanjay Singh was arrested, and now the chief minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal, got arrested. Now, the BJP has decided to arrest four more leaders of AAP in the coming two months before the results of the Lok Sabha Elections. They will arrest me, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Raghav Chadha.”
She added, “BJP hoped AAP would get destroyed after the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal as the senior leadership of the party is in jail. But after the Ram Leela Maidan rally on Sunday, where supporters came from Delhi and across the country, and after AAP’s struggle on the road, the BJP now believes that arresting the top four leaders of AAP was not enough. In coming days, the next top four leaders will be arrested.”
“I was told, in the coming days, ED will raid my residence and the houses of my relatives. After that, they will send us a summons and arrest us soon. I want to tell the BJP that we are not scared of your threats. We are soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal. We are ‘chelas’ of Bhagat Singh. We will fight to save this country under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal till our last breath,” Atishi Marlena said.
Arvind Kejriwal threw Atishi Marlena and Saurabh under the bus in Delhi Excise Policy Scam case
On 1st April, Arvind Kejriwal reportedly named her in the Delhi Liquor policy scam. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for ED, quoted Kejriwal stating that the controversial middleman Vijay Nair reported to Atishi Marlena, not him.
Kejriwal has been sent to judicial custody till 15th April. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had asked for fifteen days of judicial custody of custody of Kejriwal, citing his ‘non-cooperative behaviour’. The CM was produced in Rouse Avenue Court as his custody ended on Monday.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on 21st March by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi Liquor Policy scam case. The trial court remanded Kejriwal to ED detention until 28th March.
Raghav Chadha went to London before Kejriwal’s arrest, citing eye operation
Days before Kejriwal’s arrest, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Raghav Chadha, left India for London, citing an eye operation. On 16th March, it was reported that he would undergo a vitrectomy surgery in the United Kingdom to prevent the eye’s retinal detachment. As Atishi has taken his name during the so-called expose, it will be interesting to see if he returns to India or applies for anticipatory bail before flying to India.
