Kejriwal demands PM’s resignation over CBI raids

Stepping up attack against the Central government, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday demanded resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the floor of the Delhi Assembly for allegedly ordering CBI to raid his office at the Delhi Secretariat.

Kejriwal also took on Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley for his alleged involvement in the corruption within the DDCA and sarcastically called the defamation cases as “a good step”.

“I demand Prime Minister Modi’s resignation for the fraudulent raid he ordered to save (Finance Minister) Arun Jaitley who had headed the DDCA for years,” said Kejriwal. He even asked Modi to sack Jaitley. “If Jaitley was indeed innocent, he should prove this to the Commission of Inquiry set up by the Delhi government,” Kejriwal said.

“He should feel ashamed,” Kejriwal thundered, referring to Modi and the December 15 raid by the CBI, that has denied searching Kejriwal’s office and said that it only targeted his Principal Secretary Rajender Kumar for corruption. “Narendra Modi had not forgotten his defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections. Some minister of Central government told me that his blood boils whenever he hears my name,” he said. Kejriwal also defended his Principal Secretary and alleged that he was “threatened” and “pressurised mentally” by the CBI that his career and life will be harmed if he did not disclose the name of the DDCA official who handed over certain files to the AAP government.

Meanwhile, the Delhi high court on Tuesday sought responses from Arvind Kejriwal and five other AAP leaders on the civil defamation suit filed against them by Jaitley in the DDCA case.

They have three weeks to respond to the court notice. The court has asked AAP convener Kejriwal and his other leaders to file original documents related to the allegations levelled in the suit against them in a week. The case will be next heard on February 5.

Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani will defend Kejriwal in the defamation suit.