Delhi L-G suggests that Arvind Kejriwal be the subject of an NIA investigation for “Khalistani funding of AAP.”

In response to claims that the Aam Aadmi Party got political money from Sikhs for Justice, an Indian government-banned terrorist organization that supports Khalistan, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena of Delhi has urged that the NIA look into Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Bhullar, Devinder Pal Singh
Saxena received a complaint alleging that the AAP had received $16 million (roughly Rs 134 crore) from extremist Khalistani groups for “aiding the release of 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar and espousing pro-Khalistani sentiments,” according to a letter written to Principal Secretary to the L-G and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla. Ashoo Mongia, national general secretary of the World Hindu Federation (India), submitted the complaint.

The World Hindu Federation (India) national secretary, Ashoo Mongia, filed a complaint, which the L-G office cited. In it, Mongia made reference to a film that Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had published, in which he claimed that AAP had received $16 million (about Rs. 134 crore) in funding from Khalistani organizations between 2014 and 2022.
Conspiracy directed by the BJP: AAP

AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Monday that Lt Governor VK Saxena’s suggestion of an NIA investigation into Arvind Kejriwal is just another plot against the chief minister of Delhi at the behest of the BJP. He also referred to the L-G as “an agent” of the saffron party.
Conflict over the 1993 Delhi bomb case and Bhullar’s release as a prisoner

Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a professor at Guru Nanak Engineering College in Ludhiana, was charged under TADA in September 1993 in connection with the bombings in Delhi. On August 25, 2001, he was given the capital penalty; on March 31, 2014, the Supreme Court remitted his death sentence to life in prison. In 2015, Bhullar was sent from Tihar Jail to Central Jail in Amritsar.
The AAP government in Delhi defended itself, claiming that six of the seven board members were from the BJP. A dispute broke out when Bhullar’s request for an early release was denied by the Delhi Sentence Review Board, which includes the Delhi jail minister as a member, for the seventh time and for the first time since AAP formed the government in Punjab in 2022.
The letter from the L-G to the Union Home Secretary stated, “The L-G has recommended that electronic evidence adduced by the complainant require investigation, including forensic examination, since the complaint has been made against a sitting Chief Minister and relates to political funding by a banned terrorist organization.”

A letter from Kejriwal to Iqbal Singh in January 2014, which stated that “the AAP government has already recommended to the President the release of Prof. Bhullar and would be working on other issues, including the formation of SIT, etc. sympathetically and in a time-bound manner,” was also cited by the L-G and forwarded to the Union Home Ministry.

Iqbal Singh broke his fast in Jantar Mantar, where he was seeking a formal guarantee for Bhullar’s release. He stopped his fast upon obtaining Kejriwal’s letter.

Mongia’s allegation makes reference to a video that terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun published, in which he claims that between 2014 and 2022, AAP received $16 million from Khalistani organizations.

“It has also been reported that during his visit to Gurdwara Richmond Hills, New York, in 2014, Kejriwal met behind closed doors with leaders of the Khalistani movement, promising to help Bhullar’s release in exchange for significant financial support from Khalistani factions to the AAP. Pictures of Kejriwal’s alleged meeting with Khalistani leaders at Gurdwara Richmond Hills, New York, have been published on social media by Dr. Munish Kumar Raizada, a former AAP employee, according to a statement from LG’s senior secretary.

charges, technological evidence generated by Mongia to support his charges, and social media postings by Raizada are included in the letter LG delivered to the MHA requesting action and investigation. A few photos from the purported encounter are also included in the lawsuit.

In a letter to then-President Pranab Mukherjee, Kejriwal requested clemency for Bhullar in January 2014. In the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Kejriwal’s party defeated Congress heavyweight Preneet Kaur of Patiala to win four seats in Punjab.