The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday told a court here that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had promised to pay ₹90 lakh to each of the 40 candidates of his party in the 2021 Goa Assembly election.
The amount, which was supposed to be used as campaigning fund by AAP nominees, was provided by the “South Group” in exchange for favours granted to it by the Delhi government through the now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22, the agency also claimed.
Mr. Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in June this year in a case based on the complaint of Lieutenant-Governor V.K. Saxena, alleging multiple irregularities in the implementation of the liquor policy.
The court scheduled the next hearing for September 3. It also extended the AAP chief’s judicial custody by a week.
In a statement issued later in the day, AAP alleged that the BJP “through its agencies, continues to concoct unsubstantiated stories” with the sole aim to “manage headlines”.
“All corrupt politicians of the country have joined the BJP. However, the security deposits of all its candidates will be forfeited in the upcoming elections,” it read.
Additional chargesheet
The submissions were made by the CBI during the hearing of the arguments for the consideration of the fourth supplementary chargesheet in which Mr. Kejriwal and five other persons, including AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak, businessman Amit Arora, and Aurobindo Pharma director P. Sarath Reddy, have been named.
“The entire bribe money, amounting to ₹45 crore against the favours given to them in the excise policy, was sent to AAP and spent as per the wish of Arvind Kejriwal,” said senior advocate and Special Public Prosecutor D.P. Singh.
Mr. Singh added that Vijay Nair, the former communications in-charge of AAP, negotiated the deal with the “South Group” and that the instructions for the election-related expenditure were shared by Mr. Pathak, who was in charge of the Assembly election.
The CBI also told the court that the agency required no further investigation into the matter and was ready for the trial.
Published - August 28, 2024 12:22 am IST
