Anand on leaving AAP: Not afraid of ED
Raaj Kumar Anand denied on Thursday that he left the AAP because he was afraid of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a day after he announced his resignation as a minister from the Delhi Government and his departure from the party. He made it clear that the searches carried out at his home were intended only to follow the money trail in the purported liquor scheme.
“I didn’t quit the AAP or my ministry because of fear of the ED. I am aware that being a minister is not an easy task,” Anand said strongly.
He said that the reason he quit was because he was “not allowed” to carry out his ministerial responsibilities and that his community’s needs were not being met.
“I was not able to tolerate this injustice,” he stated, alleging that Dalit leaders are not granted prominent jobs in the AAP or in government institutions like the agricultural output selling committees.
The ED raided Anand-related sites last year and seized what they called “incriminating material,” which included proof of unregistered transactions and hawala contacts with China. The investigative agency stated in a statement that these searches were carried out in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), citing Anand’s indictment by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence for purportedly evading customs duties totaling Rs 7 crore and transactions related to China.
In addition, Anand took issue with Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj’s comments, saying he didn’t agree with the idea that “poor and Dalits are weak.” “Dalits are impoverished and weak, Bhardwaj stated on Wednesday. Are Dalits all impoverished and weak? Anand shot out, “I will not put up with the insults of Dalits.
Anand, a prominent Dalit and former Patel Nagar lawmaker, tendered his resignation on Wednesday, citing the party’s purported ties to corruption. AAP officials have speculated that he would join the BJP, but he also left everyone wondering about his next move by stating that “politics is a game of possibilities and no one knows what lies ahead in the future.”
Despite his resignation, Anand is still “technically” a minister, according to authorities. “He says he submitted his resignation to the CM’s office, but the CM is being held by the courts. According to a top Delhi government official, there is no chance that his resignation letter would be approved by the chief minister anytime soon.
A minister’s resignation letter must be sent to the L-G for further approval after being authorized by the CM.
While all of this was going on, Delhi BJP head Virendra Sachdeva criticized the AAP and brought attention to the city’s standstill caused by CM Kejriwal’s imprisonment. He questioned the degree of Kejriwal’s political self-interest and its effect on Delhi’s government, demanding to know with certainty when Anand’s resignation would be accepted.
