After a five-hour drama, Crime Branch officials of the Delhi Police on Saturday served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP attempted to poach seven AAP MLAs.
A Delhi Police officer said, “We have served the notice on him (Kejriwal). He can give the reply in three days in written form.”
The police sources said the notice was finally handed over to the officials present at the CM residence. The Crime Branch has asked Kejriwal to reveal the names of AAP MLAs who were claimed to have been approached by the BJP.
The development comes a day after a Crime Branch team visited the Chief Minister’s residence but failed to deliver the notice. The Delhi Police Crime Branch notices came at a time when Kejriwal is under scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the alleged liquor scam.
The AAP leader has skipped five summons by the probe agency so far. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, in a Press statement, alleged that Kejriwal’s behaviour has become like that of criminals.
He has no evidence, and the allegation of “Lotus 2.0” is a fabricated story to divert attention from his corruption, he said. BJP leader Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, in the statement, said FIRs should be filed against Kejriwal and Atishi if they fail to prove their allegations. Stringent action should be taken against them, he added.
Earlier, a drama unfolded at Kejriwal’s residence at Civil Lines on Saturday as a Crime Branch team arrived again for the second straight day to serve him a notice to join a probe over his claim that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs.
The team, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)-level officer, insisted they would hand over the notice to Kejriwal only as it is in his name, while officials at the Chief Minister’s residence said they are ready to take the notice and give a receipt to the Crime Branch. AAP sources claimed the police have brought the media with them to tarnish the chief minister’s image.
“The police’s aim is to defame the CM, not to serve the notice,” the sources added.
Outside the premises, AAP leader Jasmine Shah was seen trying to seek an explanation from a Crime Branch official on the legal provision under which he was insisting on handing over the notice to Kejriwal personally.
“I asked a simple question of the Delhi Police officer standing in front of the entrance of the residence of Kejriwal: Under which law is he insisting on handing over a notice personally to the CM? He had no answers. It is clear they are only here to do nautanki (drama),” Shah wrote, posting a video on X.
Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed the police were deliberately not delivering the notice to the CM’s office. “This is so embarrassing for the Modi Government. The BJP is totally exposed today. Yesterday, all BJP spokespersons alleged the CM office did not receive a police notice.
Today, they are exposed. Police ACP deliberately not delivering notice to CM office,” he wrote on X.
Another AAP leader Sandeep Pathak said, “All officials will now have to learn to say no, no matter how much pressure they face (from the Centre).”
Refuting the claims, a senior Crime Branch officer said that the notice will be served only to the CM in person and not to any of his office staff.
The officer added that some preliminary questioning will also take place, besides serving him the notice. According to police sources, the notice purportedly contains questions, asking Kejriwal to furnish evidence related to the allegations made. An officer said the team is again expected to go to his residence on Saturday to serve him the notice in person.
Reacting to the police’s attempts to serve him a notice over his MLA poaching charge against the BJP, Kejriwal said he sympathised with the police who were being made to indulge in “drama” by their “political bosses” instead of preventing crime in the city.
Sharing a video of some policemen at his residence, Kejriwal posted on X that he sympathised with the police officers sent to serve him notice and added “it’s their duty to stop crime in Delhi, but they are being made to indulge in drama. That is why crime is rising in Delhi”.
He also said in the post, without naming any party or leader, that the “political bosses” are asking him which AAP MLAs were contacted for switching sides. In an apparent swipe at the BJP, he asked why there was drama on the issue when the party knew who was behind toppling Governments of other parties across the country in the last few years by poaching MLAs.
Last week, Kejriwal, in a post on X, had alleged that the BJP offered Rs 25 crore each to seven AAP MLAs to quit the party in order to topple his Government. Shortly after Kejriwal, Delhi Minister Atishi held a Press conference and alleged that the BJP had launched “Operation Lotus 2.0” in Delhi. “They had made a similar attempt to poach AAP MLAs last year by offering them money but failed,” she said.
After the allegations were made, a delegation of the Delhi BJP led by its chief Virender Sachdeva met Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on January 30, seeking a probe.
A team of Delhi Police officials reached Kejriwal’s residence on Friday to serve notice but failed, with sources saying the men at his home refused to accept it. A Crime Branch team had visited the residence of Atishi also on Friday but could not deliver the notice as she was not present.
