Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at the Congress for defending the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to jail on accusations of corruption, underlining that Congress leaders in Delhi had accused AAP of the liquor scam. Modi attacked the Congress for what he called “save corrupt agitation” while attacking the AAP for alleged corruption including in the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy. He listed the alleged scams involving AAP including the excise policy case.

“The AAP does corruption, the AAP commits liquor scam, the AAP commits corruption, the AAP commits scam in building classrooms for children, the AAP even commits water scam… The Congress complains against the AAP. The Congress drags the AAP to court and when they are sent to jail, then they abuses Modi. Congress leaders addressed press conferences making corruption charges on AAP. Can they tell us today – was the evidence they showed correct or false? They are duplicitous’, Modi said, replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President’s address.

Modi said the Congress had presented so many proofs of AAP's scams before the country in a press conference. Now that the Congress and AAP are partners, was all the evidence presented a lie?” The Congress should now answer whether those proofs were true or false, he said.

He accused the Congress and AAP of double standards. “Those who are now accusing the Central government of misusing investigative agencies such as CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and ED [Enforcement Directorate] once appealed to the government to use them against the corrupt,” said Modi. He said the AAP once urged the ED to arrest the then Congress chief minister of Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel. “How has the same ED and CBI become corrupt?”

The prime minister asserted that taking action against corruption is a mission for the NDA government and not a matter of electoral gains.  "I want to state without hesitation and also tell the countrymen that I have given full freedom to the agencies to take the strongest action against the corrupt and corruption. The government will not interfere anywhere," the prime minister said.

"Yes, they (probe agencies) should work honestly for honesty. No person embroiled in corruption will be able to escape the law. This is Modi's guarantee," the prime minister said. Referring to the opposition members' charge that the government is misusing the probe agencies,

Modi cited statements made by opposition leaders like late Mulayam Singh Yadav who had accused the UPA government of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against them. He also said even the Supreme Court had termed the CBI as a "caged parrot".  "Allegations have been made against the central investigative agencies. It has been said that the central government is misusing the investigative agencies.

 Modi asserted that he had vowed in 2014, when the BJP came into power at the Centre, that the government will work for the welfare of the poor and also take actions against corruption and black money. "Action against corruption is a mission for us. It is not a matter of victory or defeat in elections for us," he added.