New Delhi: The BJP on Sunday accused senior AAP leaders of presenting a “twisted and misleading” reference to a court's bail order in the Delhi excise policy case and demanded that a contempt of court proceeding be initiated against them.
The BJP's reaction came after Delhi minister Atishi told a press conference earlier in the day that the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to accused Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra in the case observing that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) could not show evidence of any cash payment for bribe or kickback.
Later, in a tweet, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal termed the liquor policy case "bogus" and alleged that it was registered by the probe agency only to malign the image of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Hitting back, Union minister Meenakshi Lekhi charged that the AAP leaders are “spreading lies” and “misleading” people by portraying the court's bail order as its judgement in the case.
“Order on bail is not an order on discharge or acquittal,” the BJP MP from New Delhi constituency said, adding that “neither of the two accused have been discharged or acquitted in the case”.
The AAP leaders read the court's bail order “in parts” and did not mention that the court also made it clear that its observations made in the order were “only for the purpose of deciding the bail applications of the applicants and nothing contained in this order shall tantamount to the expression of any opinion on merits of the case”, Lekhi told reporters here.
“The bail order has been portrayed as to be an order that there is no scam and no wrong has been done. Reading the court's bail order in parts, they have tried to mislead people once again,” she alleged.
The ED has “enough and ample evidence” of corruption which will be examined, cross examined and verified during the trial of the case, which is yet to begin, she said.
“I demand that contempt proceedings be initiated against such people who are playing with the court orders and misrepresenting it to change the public opinion,” Lekhi said.
“You can not misinterpret and misrepresent the orders of the court. A twisted reference and observations to the court orders amounts to contempt of court,” she added.
The Union minister said that a court, while rejecting the bail application of former Delhi Minister Manish Sisodia, had noted that the prosecution was still able to show “a genuine and prima facie case for involvement of the applicant in commission of the alleged offence of money laundering”.
Atishi should have also read the observations made by the court in its order, while rejecting Sisodia bail application, “to know who is the brain behind the scam”, she charged.
“Scandal after scandal is what they (AAP) are involved in with the latest being operation 'Sheesh Mahal' (a reference to Rs 45 crore expenditure on Kejriwal's official residence),” Lekhi claimed.
“These are the people who are constantly involved in scams, kickbacks, obfuscation, destruction of evidence and constantly leading a life of falsity and not truthfullness. They should apologise to the court, the BJP and the people, and return the money that they have made in scams to the country,” ,” she alleged. PTI