Sheila Dikshit differs with Arvind Kejriwal on arrest of his top aide, Rajendra Kumar. (PTI photo)
Highlights
- Arvind Kejriwal's top bureaucrat arrested on corruption charges
- Arrest unlikely to be politically motivated: Sheila Dikshit
- Alleged graft took place when she was Delhi Chief Minister
The
arrest of a top aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is "unlikely to be politically motivated," said his predecessor, Sheila Dikshit, today. "The CBI must have some information which is why he was raided before," Mrs Dikshit added.
According to the CBI, which
arrested Rajendra Kumar yesterday, the 50-year-old bureaucrat was instrumental in a series of corrupt deals between 2007 and 2014, when Mrs Dikshit was Chief Minister. So her acknowledgement of likely wrongdoing could be used by critics to highlight a self-goal. But sources close to Mrs Dikshit say that Mr Kumar was transferred from key positions in response to murmurs of graft.
Mr Kumar is accused of rigging government contracts for computers, software and more to favour one firm, which he proxy-owned.
His arrest has been excoriated by the Delhi government as the latest in a vicious campaign by the Centre to undermine Chief Minister Kejriwal, with whom Mr Kumar served as Principal Secretary.
In December 2013, Mrs Dikshit's ask for a fourth consecutive term in governing Delhi crashed and burned with Mr Kejriwal and his newly-formed Aam Aadmi Party or AAP winning the capital on its first try. After Mr Kejriwal's impetuous resignation 49 days after he took office, he was re-elected with a majestic margin in February 2015.