New Delhi: The opposition parties slammed Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party government on Tuesday after cash and gold were recovered by the Enforcement Directorate from Health Minister Satyendar Jain who is currently in jail over charges of money laundering. The Delhi units of BJP and Congress called the AAP government corrupt and claimed that more heads will roll in the coming days.
The BJP said Jain, 57, should be conferred with the "Param Bhrasht" (most corrupt) award and that the ED should also probe Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In a statement, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said the unrest in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) shows that the misdeeds of many other leaders will also come to the fore soon.
"Kejriwal had been saying that he had seen all the files and there was nothing wrong. If Jain is so honest, then he should be given the Padma Shri. But in view of... (ED's) raid, he should be given the 'Param Bhrasht' award," Gupta quipped.
Slamming the Kejriwal-led party further, he alleged that while AAP came to power and portrayed itself as an honest government but is now "fully drowned in corruption".
Delhi BJP spokesperson Harish Khurana said that the ED should also probe Kejriwal.
"Kejriwal had given a clean chit to Jain after he was arrested by the ED in the money laundering case, which means he knows what the links are," Khurana said.
Cash and Gold recovered from Satyendar Jain's residence
The ED on Tuesday said it seized "unexplained" cash worth Rs 2.85 crore and 133 gold coins after raids were conducted at the premises of Jain and his alleged associates as part of a money-laundering probe against them.
It said those raided on Monday "either directly or indirectly assisted (the minister) or participated in the process of money laundering".
The ED said the cash and coins recovered were "unexplained" and kept in a "secret" place.
BJP MP from East Delhi Gautam Gambhir also trained guns at the AAP and said with the recoveries of cash and gold from Jain and his associates, the "pretence of honesty" of the Delhi government and Kejriwal has been completely exposed.
"For a long time, the Delhi CM had been shielding the corruption of his associates because he was the ultimate beneficiary. But now, everything is out in the open. Arvind Kejriwal must answer all those people who have stood by him since the Anna movement thinking his fight was against corruption.
"In reality, his fight was to gain power, by hook or by crook," Gambhir alleged.
BJP leader Kapil Mishra, who was removed from the AAP in 2017 after he alleged that he saw Jain giving Rs 2 crore to Kejriwal, said the chief minister is a "partner in crime".
"Kejriwal had demanded the Padma Vibhushan for Jain. Kejriwal is bound to give a clean chit to Jain because he is a partner in crime," he alleged.
Delhi leaders claim 'CM Kejriwal is the mastermind of corruption'
Delhi Congress president Anil Kumar said it is "quite clear" that Jain was involved in major corruption.
"Gradually many more names from the AAP will come up in this graft case. The next person to face the ED will be Manish Sisodia and Kailash Gehlot," he claimed.
The Delhi Congress has submitted a complaint to the Delhi Police Crime Branch demanding a probe into an alleged liquor "scam". The party will approach the CBI if the Delhi Police fail to act, Kumar said.
Northeast Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari said that he was "not surprised" as he knew that the AAP leaders "are only wearing the cloak of honesty".
"The way Arvind Kejriwal is defending Satyendar Jain, I believe that Kejriwal is the mastermind of this corruption and the ED and other agencies should probe him too," Tiwari said in a video message.
Jain was arrested on May 30 under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and is in ED custody till June 9.
The case against Jain, a minister without portfolio in the Kejriwal government, stems from an August 2017 FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation against him and others on charges of alleged possession of disproportionate assets.
(with PTI inputs)