AAP leader Atishi claims BJP 'plotting' arrests of key members ahead of LS polls

New Delhi, April 2 (IANS) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi Minister Atishi on Tuesday alleged a "targeted political vendetta" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) aimed at disrupting the unity and strength of her party ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

At a press conference here, Atishi said that in the forthcoming two months leading up to the elections, four more AAP leaders, including herself, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, and Raghav Chadha, are slated to be arrested.

She asserted that this move has been orchestrated by the BJP in an attempt to dismantle AAP's leadership hierarchy.

Atishi further disclosed a purported attempt by a close aide associated with the BJP to lure her into joining their ranks as a means to salvage her political career.

She contended that refusal to comply with the BJP's overtures could result in her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within a month.

The AAP leader pointed out that recent developments, including the naming of herself and Saurabh Bharadwaj by the ED in court proceedings, stem from statements that have been in possession of both the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for over a year and a half.

These statements, she claimed, are already part of the ED and CBI's charge sheets.

"The BJP's sudden interest in reviving these old statements underscores their desperation to undermine the resilience of AAP, even in the face of prominent leaders such as Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendra Jain being incarcerated," said.

She concluded by alleging that the BJP's strategy was clear to systematically target the leadership of AAP, thereby weakening its foundation and prospects ahead of the upcoming electoral battle.

On Monday, the ED’s application for judicial custody of the Delhi Chief Minister in the excise policy case had said that in his statement Arvind Kejriwal claimed that one of the accused, Vijay Nair, used to report to AAP leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and not to him.

Former AAP communications in charge, Vijay Nair, was arrested by the probe agency along with members of the South Group -- K. Kavitha, Sarath Reddy, Raghav Magunta, and Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy and other AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh in the excise policy case.

The ED had said that on being asked about the extent of Vijay Nair’s interaction and reporting, CM Kejriwal stated that Nair didn't report to him but to Ministers Atishi and Bharadwaj and his interaction with the communications incharge was limited.

“However, the statements by Vijay Nair reveal that he stayed in a Cabinet Minister's bungalow and worked from the Camp Office of the CM. It was also put to the arrestee to explain why would someone, who reported to other leaders of the AAP, work from his Camp Office, which anyways is meant for the work of the CM of Delhi and not for the party,” read the ED’s judicial custody application in the court on Monday.