The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora's home on Monday in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land fraud.
The raids were conducted at several locations linked to Arora in Punjab's Jalandhar district under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and are linked to a land fraud case according to sources. The allegations against Arora include transferring land to his company in a deceitful manner.
Reacting to the news, the AAP leader in a post on X said, "I am a law-abiding citizen, am not sure about the reason for the search operation, will cooperate fully with agencies and make sure all their queries are answered."
Addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia condemned the raid, calling it politically motivated and part of a larger strategy by the BJP to weaken AAP.
"This raid is not about investigating corruption. It is happening simply because Sanjeev Arora is an MP from AAP and a member of Arvind Kejriwal’s team. Unable to defeat us in elections, they are now trying to trap our leaders using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)," he stated.
He added that the reason to do is simple. “Despite incessant efforts, PM Modi has failed to break Arvind Kejriwal or his team. After arresting Satyendar Jain, me, Vijay Nair, Sanjay Singh, and then even Arvind Kejriwal, he couldn’t break AAP. We are out of jail.”
He pointed out that the recent raid coincided with the exit polls in Haryana, stating that the BJP's grip on power is slipping. "As soon as the Haryana exit polls came out, where they can see another state going out of their hands, they are targeting the opposition again," Sisodia alleged.
Reacting to the raid on party MP, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh remarked that his only "crime" is being an AAP MP which is why he is being persecuted politically. "PM Modi has fallen victim to a serious disease. The name of this disease is 'Nafrati Bimari' (disease of hatred), and it is incurable. PM Modi is so filled with hatred and contempt towards the AAP and Arvind Kejriwal that he has no interest in addressing the real issues of the country,” he added.
