AAP News: Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand resigned from his post as minister and also from Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday.
After resigning from AAP, Raaj Kumar Anand said that the party is stuck in a swamp of corruption and It has become difficult for him to work. Raaj Kumar Anand said, "Aam Aadmi Party was born to fight corruption but today the party is stuck in a swamp of corruption. It has become difficult for me to work on the minister's post. I resigned from the post of minister and from the party as I can't connect name with this corruption."
He further stated, "The connection with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal happened because he had said 'Rajniti badlegi toh desh badlega'...Today politics hasn't changed but the politician has. I have sent my resignation to the chief minister's office."
On the resignation of Raaj Kumar Anand as Delhi minister and AAP leader, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla says, "Today whatever is happening within the Aam Aadmi Party i.e. some minister resigning from their government and raising question marks, is their internal matter. One thing is very clear. We stand vindicated about the political conversion of the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal which we have seen in Ramlila Maidan itself. Started off as 'India against corruption', today they are 'INDI alliance of corruption'...Now they must explain...after all of this, they continue shamelessly to run the government of Delhi from inside Tihar jail...They (those who have left the party) have left because of your changing 'Swabhav' and that 'Swabhav' people of India are also seeing..."
Last year, the Enforcement Directorate raided the premises of Raaj Kumar Anand and some others as part of a money laundering probe. According to news agency PTI, a dozen premises linked to the minister, including those in the Civil Lines area of the national capital, were searched.
The probe against Anand was undertaken as per the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMlA). The investigation stemmed from a charge sheet filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on charges of false declarations in imports for customs evasion of more than ₹7 crore apart from international hawala transactions, PTI reported, citing sources.
A local court took cognisance of the DRI prosecution complaint, after which the ED filed a PMLA case against Anand and some others. The AAP leader was the Minister for Social Welfare and SC/ST Welfare, among others, in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. He was an MLA from Patel Nagar.