On Tuesday morning, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal fired shots on Twitter when he announced that his office has been raided by the CBI.
CBI raids my office
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015
When Modi cudn't handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015
Modi is a coward and a psycopath
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015Soon after, media reports emerged based on a statement and source-based information from CBI that the raids were not in fact on CM Kejriwal’s office, but on the Delhi government’s Principal Secretary Rajinder Kumar’s office which is right next to it. The case is to do with an alleged misuse of his official position by him to award tenders to particular private firms. CBI says that the office and residence of Rajinder Kumar have been raided.
Kejriwal however rebutted stating that raids on Rajinder Kumar were only a ruse to target Kejriwal himself.
CBI lying. My own office raided. Files of CM office are being looked into. Let Modi say which file he wants?
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015Speaking to TV channels, AAP leaders Ashutosh and Kumar Vishwas said that the raids were meant to target the Delhi CM and that no other CM in a BJP would face a similar situation. “CBI is lying through its teeth,” said Ashutosh.
The AAP states that the Principal Secretary sits right next to the CM’s office and thus CM’s files are also being checked.
Speaking to the media, Deepak Bajpai of the AAP said that this was “martial law”, an “attack on democratic fabric of country” and that he was “amazed that the media does not believe that this was a raid on CM’s office”.
BJP leader and Union Minister Venkiah Naidu reacted to Kejriwal asking, “Why should we handle anybody? We are in a federal system and everyone has to do their duties, CBI is doing their duty.” He added, “It has become a fashion with central government to take PM’s name for everything.. Government does not interfere with PM. PM has nothing to do with this.”
Meanwhile, Kejriwal has said that he should have been informed.
I am the only CM who dismissed, on my own, a minister n a senior officer on charges of corruption and handed their cases to CBI(1/2)
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015
If CBI had any evidence against Rajender, why didn't they share it wid me? I wud hv acted against him(2/2)
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) December 15, 2015The CBI had categorically denied raiding or sealing the CM’s office, instead said they raided the adjacent office of Rajender Kumar, the principle secretary to the CM.
TV channels reported CBI officials saying that the allegations of them raiding the CM’s office as “baseless”.
Speaking on the issue, Union Communications and Information Technology Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “The CBI had a search warrant issued by the competent court.”
He accused the AAP government of exhibiting “double standards and hypocrisy” and asked why is Arvind defending someone facing charges.
Earlier in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "No one from the CBI has entered Kejriwal's room, the case is not connected to his tenure. The search is against an officer."
On not informing the CM prior to the raid, TV channels reported CBI officials saying “that would have been a tipoff”.
NDTV reports the CBI raided the Delhi Secretariat around 9 AM on Tuesday and sealed the secretary’s office while AAP have claimed that the entire CM’s office was sealed.
Incidentally, the CBI had recovered foreign currency worth of Rs 3 lakh in addition to Rs 2.4 lacks in Indian currency from Kumar’s residence after raiding a total of 14 locations in UP and Delhi.
The bureaucrat was earlier accused by a colleague of corruption in favoring some private firms.