Punjab’s Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday hiked the petrol prices by 61 paise and diesel by 92 paise per liter. The government has also scrapped a scheme introduced by the previous Congress government, which offered subsidized power to households with up to 7 KW load, as reported by The Tribune.
Tag: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
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BJP Slams Kejriwal For Ignoring Question on Maliwal ‘Assault’, AAP’s Sanjay Singh Defends Silence |
The BJP attacked Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday for avoiding media questions about the alleged assault on his party MP Swati Maliwal at his residence in Delhi, accusing him of behaving more like a “goon”. The Aam Aadmi Party convener was speaking at a press conference earlier in the day in Lucknow with Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav, when the Delhi chief minister was questioned about the incident. Kejriwal avoided the question, which was fielded by AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who was also present. Singh stated that his party has already taken a clear position on the issue.
Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva chastised the chief minister for avoiding media questions and demanded his resignation immediately, accepting responsibility for the incident.
BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia claimed Kejriwal is the main “criminal” in the incident in which his aide Bibhav Kumar allegedly physically attacked Maliwal at the chief minister’s residence. Bhatia also mentioned a phone call Maliwal made to the Delhi Police on the day of the incident.
“Kejriwal’s silence speaks volumes. “Out of jail, he’s more of a ‘goonda’ than a chief minister,” Bhatia told journalists. Bhatia noted that Bibhav Kumar was photographed with Kejriwal during his visit to Lucknow.
At the press conference, Sanjay Singh used incidents of crimes against women in Manipur, women wrestlers’ complaints against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, and the Prajwal Revanna case to criticise the BJP.The AAP has made its position clear in the Maliwal case, and no one should politicise it, Singh said.
Bhatia noted that Singh admitted that a condemnable incident had occurred against Maliwal, and that Kejriwal was expected to act in a case involving a party colleague. Instead, he described the accused as a “twin brother” travelling with him.
“This shows Kejriwal has no commitment to justice for women, while the BJP is fighting for justice for an opposition leader,” he said, accusing him of cowardice. Bhatia demanded that the AAP leader break his silence or, if he is a coward, resign. He said that the woman The Rajya Sabha MP has been incommunicado since the incident, and the BJP leader wondered if she had been kidnapped or forcibly removed from the public eye.
He also criticised Yadav for attempting to downplay the incident by claiming that it is not a big deal. Targeting the Samajwadi Party, Bhatia recalled the late SP leader Mulayam Singh Yadav’s controversial defence of some men accused of rape, claiming that “they are boys, they make mistakes.”
Sachdeva echoed Bhatia’s attack on Akhilesh Yadav, saying nothing more was expected of him. Sachdeva stated that Kejriwal was photographed with Bibhav Kumar and Sanjay Singh at Lucknow airport, demonstrating how seriously the Chief Minister is taking the matter.
“They are travelling with Kumar, whom they consider an offender. “Lies, deception, and cunning are the hallmarks of Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party,” the Delhi BJP president charged. “Was it not a responsibility of Kejriwal who holds the constitutional post of chief minister and was present at his home at the time of the incident, to lodge a police complaint,” he asked.
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‘Conspiracy To Arrest Me, Summons Illegal’: Arvind Kejriwal Says Ready For Legal Battle Against ED |
New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday refused to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam case, calling the summons “false” and “illegal”. He also accused the BJP-led central government of using the ED and other agencies to harass and intimidate him and his party leaders ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal said that he has explained to the ED why their summons is illegal and that he will not obey an unlawful order. He said that his biggest strength and asset is his honesty and that he has always fought for the country.
“In the last two years, all the agencies of BJP have conducted many raids but not a single penny was found. If there is corruption then where is the money? AAP leaders are kept in jail in such fake cases. Now BJP wants to arrest me. My biggest strength and asset is my honesty,” he said.
ED की क्या तैयारी.. छापेमारी या गिरफ्तारी ?#AamAdmiParty #ED #ArvindKejriwal #LiquorPolicy | @priyasi90 @bramhprakash7 pic.twitter.com/Fr8pPUfnpq
— Zee News (@ZeeNews) January 4, 2024He also questioned the timing of the notice, saying that the BJP wants to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. He said that he had cooperated with the CBI when they had called him eight months ago, but now the ED is trying to implicate him in a 31-year-old case.
“My lawyers told me that the summons was illegal, I wrote the question and sent it to ED. Should I obey an unlawful summon? If a legal summons comes, I will comply with it. Why am I being called just before the Lok Sabha elections? Eight months ago I was called by CBI, I went and gave all the answers. Today they want to stop me from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections,” he added.
Kejriwal also alleged that the BJP is using the ED to lure opposition leaders into joining their party and that they are targeting honest leaders like Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair. He appealed to the people to support him in his fight against the BJP’s “politics of hatred and vendetta”.
“Today, opposition leaders are being included in the BJP through ED. Whoever joins his party, all his matters get resolved. Today honest leaders like Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Vijay Nair have been put in jail. I have always fought for the country. Every breath of mine is for the country. We have to save the country together. I am fighting against them with all my heart, I need your support,” he said.
The ED had issued a third summons to Kejriwal on December 22 last year, asking him to appear before the agency on January 3. The summons was in relation to a case registered by the ED in 2019 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against some liquor companies and government officials for allegedly causing a loss of Rs 1,000 crore to the Delhi government by evading excise duty.
Kejriwal, in his reply to the ED, had expressed his readiness to cooperate with the investigation but declined to appear on the summoned date, calling the notice “illegal”. He had also questioned the agency for not responding to his earlier replies when the summons was sent to him and he had raised certain queries on the nature of the agency’s investigation.
In his written reply to the ED, the Delhi CM had said “As a premier investigating agency the non-disclosure and non-response approach adopted by you cannot sustain the test of law, equity or justice. Your obstinacy is tantamount to assuming the role of judge, jury and executioner at the same time which is not acceptable in our country governed by the rule of law.”
“In these circumstances, I urge you to respond to my earlier response and clarify the position so as to enable me to understand the real intent, ambit, nature, sweep and scope of the purported inquiry/investigation for which I am being called” he had added in his response.
I hope this article meets your expectations. Here are some possible headlines for this article:
Kejriwal snubs ED, says BJP wants to arrest him before polls
BJP using ED to harass me and my party: Kejriwal
ED summons a political conspiracy, says Kejriwal