New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal found himself on the back foot on Wednesday when several of his claims targeting Finance Minister Arun Jaitley with regard to the CBI's alleged raid in his office were disputed by the Centre and some legal experts.
Targeting secretary Rajendra Kumar Singh, CBI officials swooped on Kejriwal's office at the Delhi Secretariat over a 2002 corruption case, triggering a string of angry responses from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader who took office in February 2015, seizing Rs 2.4 lakh and documents related to three immovable properties from Kumar's official residence.
Here are some facts that expose Kejriwal's stance:
Centre on Wednesday disputed Kejriwal's claim that that the CBI raided his office in search of a Delhi District and Cricket Association (DDCA) file related to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley saying that the state government has no jurisdiction over the cricket body.
The real reason for the raid, Kejriwal alleged on Tuesday, was a report of the commission that probed the affairs of DDCA, which he alleged was a den of corruption. Jaitley had been involved for a long time with the DDCA, he said.
"They wanted the file of DDCA… Jaitley figures in it. They came looking for that file," he told reporters on Tuesday, adding that he was about to order a commission of inquiry into the DDCA scam.
Disputing the claim a senior government functionary reportedly said, "The cricket body is registered as a company and, therefore, comes under the jurisdiction of Registrar of Companies. Only a politician with authoritarian mindset can claim to have the competence to investigate affairs of companies."
Besides, there is no reason why even after the CBI raid he cannot order the probe into the DDCA scam.
Kejriwal's allegation that the CBI raiding team entered his chambers and rummaged through his papers without informing him in advance were questioned by legal experts who say the agency was not legally bound to do so.
Kejriwal tweeted on Tuesday that the CBI should have shared its information with him first about his secretary Rajender Kumar.
According to legal experts, had the CBI informed Kejriwal about the raid, it would have violated Article 14 of the Constitution, opening the possibility of the suspect being forewarned and thus giving him an unlikely advantage over the probe agency.
"Where there are allegations of an offence under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against a public servant, whether high or low, whether decision-maker or not, an independent investigation into such allegations is of utmost importance and unearthing the truth is the goal," the Supreme Court has ruled.
Following the raid, Kejriwal said that the CBI should not have raided the office of the Delhi Chief Minister who hailed from an 'honest' party like AAP. First of all, CBI has clarified that it did not raid his office. Secondly, even if the CBI has indeed raided his office, the AAP leader who claims to be heading a non-corrupt party should not be worried and have faith in his and his government's much vaunted 'honesty'.
In 2012 when Kejriwal was still an anti-corruption activist had said that if CBI announced on the front page of a newspaper that it would raid a person, then it would not be successful. Now when he's entered the corridors of power, he says the exact opposite.
While the AAP leader wants the CBI to be independent, he expects CBI to give him a prior warning about its operations.
Check out the two tweets below contradicting Kejriwal's stand: