NEW DELHI, Feb 3: After a five-hour drama, Crime Branch officials of the Delhi Police today served a notice on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to reply within three days in a probe into his claims that the BJP attempted to poach seven AAP MLAs.
A Delhi Police officer said, “We have served the notice on him (Kejriwal). He can give the reply in three days in a written form.”
The Crime Branch has asked Kejriwal to reveal the names of AAP MLAs who were claimed to have been approached by the BJP.
Earlier, a drama unfolded at Kejriwal’s residence in Civil Lines as a Crime Branch team arrived again on Saturday to serve him a notice in connection with the probe.
Last week, Kejriwal, in a post on X, had alleged that the BJP offered Rs 25 crore each to seven AAP MLAs to quit the party in order to topple his Government.
Shortly after Kejriwal, Delhi Minister Atishi held a press conference and alleged that the BJP had launched “Operation Lotus 2.0” in Delhi.
“They had made a similar attempt to poach AAP MLAs last year by offering them money but failed,” she said.
After the allegations were made, a delegation of the Delhi BJP led by its chief Virender Sachdeva met Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora on January 30, seeking a probe.
A team of Delhi Police officials reached Kejriwal’s residence on Friday to serve notice but failed with sources saying the men at his home refused to accept it. The team reached the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence again on Saturday with the notice.
The police sources said the notice was finally handed over to the officials present at the CM residence.
The police team was led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP)-level officer who insisted that they will hand over the notice to Kejriwal only as it is in his name, while officials at the CM’s residence said they are ready to take the notice and give a receiving.
Outside the premises, AAP leader Jasmine Shah was seen trying to seek explanation from a Crime Branch official on the legal provision under which he was insisting on handing over the notice personally to Kejriwal.
“I asked a simple question to the Delhi Police officer standing in front of the entrance of the residence of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Under which law is he insisting to hand over a notice personally to CM? He had no answers. It is clear they are only here to do nautanki (drama),” Shah wrote, posting a video on X.
Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed the police were deliberately not delivering the notice to the CM’s office.
“This is so embarrassing for the Modi Government. The BJP is totally exposed today. Yesterday, all BJP spokespersons alleged that the CM office did not receive police notice. Today, they are exposed. The ACP is deliberately not delivering notice to CM office,” he wrote on X.(PTI)
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