Centre protecting the corrupt, says AAP

The party was stung over the arrest of its legislator Surinder Singh and the Ministry of Home Affairs declaring the Delhi government constituted commission to probe the alleged CNG fitness scam as “legally invalid and void”.

Attacking the BJP, senior AAP leader Ashutosh said the Home ministry terming the commission to probe the scam as “legally invalid and void” is a clear Constitutional impropriety and questioned the Centre’s move to “snatch” the state government’s power to set up an inquiry panel. 

He alleged that the Centre was trying to “protect” the politicians and bureaucrats involved in the scam.

“The move is a direct compromise with corruption and a desperate move to shield the LG Najeeb Jung whose role in the CNG scam is suspected. It is beyond reasonable understanding as to why the Narendra Modi government is trying to bury the multi-crore scam which continued during the Sheila Dikshit regime in which many ministers, bureaucrats are under the scanner,” Ashutosh said. 

He said it is intriguing that Jung “overlooked” the key findings of two probe agencies - the <g data-gr-id="25">Anti Corruption</g> Branch (ACB) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) —instead of recusing himself from any further deliberation in any matter.

“The desperate attempt by the Modi government to stonewall the probe into the CNG fitness scam, in which at least Rs 100 crore of the taxpayers money was looted by a political-bureaucrat-corporate nexus, completely exposes the BJP’s attempts to cover-up the Congress corruption,” AAP’s Delhi unit secretary Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

Defending AAP MLA Surinder Singh, the party said the legislator was resisting the alleged attempt of NDMC officials taking <g data-gr-id="26">bribe</g> from a vendor, but he did not assault him. 

Ashutosh also expressed surprise over booking Singh under the sections of the ST/SC Act as he was not even aware that the NDMC official belonged to a particular caste, leave alone abusing him.