'CBI raids my office', Arvind Kejriwal tweeted this morning, targetting PM Narendra Modi (FILE photo)
A furious Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today alleged that his office had been raided by the CBI and directed an extraordinarily sharp attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a "coward and psychopath". The ruling BJP has said Mr Kejriwal owes the PM an unqualified apology.The CBI denies raiding or sealing the Chief Minister's office and claims that it was searching
the office and home of a senior bureaucrat in the Chief Minister's team, Rajender Kumar, accused of corruption in computer purchases. The agency claims it has found about Rs 13 lakh cash and foreign currency worth Rs 3 lakh in raids today on Rajender Kumar and another person. It said Rs 2.4 lakh was found from Rajender Kumar's home.
This morning, the CBI walked into the Delhi Secretariat, the headquarters of the city government, at around 9 am. Nearly 20 minutes later, the investigators were in the office of Rajender Kumar, next door to the Chief Minister.
AAP alleges that the CBI sealed the entire floor, not allowing access even to the Chief Minister's office.
Mr Kejriwal and senior AAP leaders are in a huddle in the home of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted: "Sealing of a Chief Minister's office is unprecedented. I am shocked."
Mr Kejriwal, retweeting her comment, said it was "undeclared emergency."
As political outrage over the raid reached Parliament,
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in the Rajya Sabha: "The office of the chief minister of Delhi has not been raided. The raid has nothing to do with Mr Arvind Kejriwal or his tenure as chief minister. The search is against an officer."
Mr Kejriwal accused the finance minister of "lying".
The BJP called Mr Kejriwal's words against the PM "abominable" and some opposition parties also felt that he should have been more restrained.
Since AAP took power in February after winning a massive mandate in Delhi, it has been locked in a running feud with the central government over the control of important functions in Delhi like law and order, police and land.
Days ago, when Mr Kejriwal was asked about vendetta politics in connection with the National Herald case against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, he had told NDTV: "There is definitely a vendetta against AAP. Five of our MLAs have been arrested on flimsy grounds."