New Delhi: After the Delhi High Court dismissed the plea of Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Excise Policy case, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said that they do not agree with the decision and will approach the Supreme Court against it.
Addressing a press conference here today, Bharadwaj said there is talk of crores of rupees in the Excise case but ED and CBI could not recover a single illegal rupee.
"Whatever has happened till now in the so-called Excise Policy case, it can be said that the entire case is not about money laundering but it is the country's biggest political conspiracy within which there is a big conspiracy to destroy the Chief Minister, who has won with the highest number of votes as compared to other states. Till now, there has been talk of crores but ED and CBI have not recovered a single illegal rupee. This raises big questions on the investigation," he said.
"On the decision of the High Court today, we want to respectfully say that we do not agree with this decision and we will go to the Supreme Court against it," he added.
Further, the AAP leader alleged that again and again, this point has been brought in the courts, and pressure was put on the witnesses to change their testimony in the case.
"They (witnesses) were told to change their previous testimony and give the testimony which the ED wants. All this is on record. Chandan Reddy who was pressured to change his statement, filed a writ in the High Court that he was beaten badly. Pressure was put on Arun Pillai to change his statement. All this is on record, not my allegations," Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
"Sameer Mahendru, also on record, has said that his father was stopped by ED officials, his wife was stopped at the airport and an attempt was made to extract his statement from him in jail. It can be said that this entire case is based on false evidence and witnesses," he added.
Saurabh Bharadwaj also pointed out that Magunta Reddy was pressured to change his statement, after which his son was released from jail and he got a ticket from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), (partner of the NDA alliance) from Andhra Pradesh in the Lok Sabha elections.
"The biggest testimony that is being used against Arvind Kejriwal is that of Magunta Reddy and his son Raghava Reddy. The BJP-led NDA has given a ticket to Magunta Reddy from the TDP in Andhra Pradesh. On September 16, 2022, a raid took place at Magunta Reddy's house and he was asked about Kejriwal. There was nothing in his statement that was against Kejriwal. After 5 months, ED arrested his son, Raghav Reddy. Even in his statement, he does not say anything that is against Kejriwal," he said.
"After seeing his son in jail for such a long time, on July 16, Magunta Reddy changed his statement and gave a statement against Kejriwal and then on July 18, Raghav Reddy was released from the jail. A scared man can make any statement," Saurabh said.
—ANI