Sanjay Singh detained in Delhi Excise Policy
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the agency’s investigation into possible irregularities in the implementation of Delhi excise policy on Wednesday. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the BJP in a fiery statement, attributing the action to the BJP’s “growing desperation” ahead of the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Solid proof against Sanjay Singh in Delhi Excise Policy Case
After nearly a full day of questioning at his North Avenue home, Singh, 51, was taken into custody. According to an ED official, Singh was detained under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) for allegedly playing a crucial part in using his connections to influence the now-scrapped policy in order to obtain favors for himself and a number of enterprises. “We have discovered solid proof that Sanjay Singh benefited from the excise policy through his associates,” the investigators write. Since the beginning of the investigation, he has not cooperated, the officer added, pleading anonymity.
Singh is the second leader from Delhi’s ruling party to be detained in the excise policy investigation. Singh is the AAP’s most visible political voice both within and outside of Parliament. Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, was later detained in the same case in February by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
AAP: It is illegal and shows the nervousness of PM Modi
Arvind Kejriwal, the national convener of the AAP and the chief minister of Delhi, claimed that Singh’s arrest was “illegal” and that it showed the “nervousness” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“The arrest of Sanjay Singh is completely illegal. This shows Modi ji’s nervousness. They will arrest many more opposition leaders before the elections,” Kejriwal said in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Earlier in the day Kejriwal linked the ED raid at Singh’s residence with the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and said, “It seems to be the last desperate effort of a person who is going to lose.”
संजय सिंह की गिरफ़्तारी बिलकुल ग़ैर क़ानूनी है। ये मोदी जी की बौखलाहट दर्शाता है। चुनाव तक ये कई और विपक्षी नेताओं को गिरफ़्तार करेंगे।
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 4, 2023
Kejriwal also alleged that the Centre was misusing the federal investigating agencies. “As the elections draw near, ED, CBI, police and other agencies will be used in different ways…..but we are not worried worry about it. When a person is losing, they indulge in such things,” the Delhi chief ministers said, before ED arrested the AAP MP.
Kejriwal said, “Sanjay Singh is the strongest voice against PM…”
The chief minister also visited Singh’s residence along with his wife later in the day. Emerging out of the house, Kejriwal said, “Sanjay Singh is the strongest voice against Narendra Modi’s corruption in the country. Initially, he (the PM) got Sanjay Singh suspended from the Parliament, and today he was arrested in a completely fake case.”
