"K. Kavitha had hatched a conspiracy with Arvind, Sisodia": says ED, AAP rejects claim

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has claimed that Bharat Rashtra Samiti (BRS) leader K. Kavitha and some others had “conspired” with top party leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to gain leverage in the Delhi excise policy by paying Rs100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Now AAP has reacted to this claim of ED. AAP has alleged that the investigation is being used to tarnish Kejriwal's image before the Lok Sabha elections.

"On several occasions in the past, the ED has issued such extremely false and frivolous statements which show that instead of being an impartial investigating agency, it is acting like a political wing of the BJP," AAP said in a statement.

AAP said the agency's allegations are an attempt to malign the image of Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by "spreading lies and creating sensationalism in the media" every day. AAP said, "There is no new fact or evidence in the ED's statement. Despite conducting more than 500 raids and questioning thousands of witnesses, they have not recovered a single rupee or evidence in this case."

In fact, ED claimed in a statement that investigation has revealed that Kavitha along with others conspired with top AAP leaders including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia to get benefits in formulating and implementing Delhi Excise Policy.

The agency said, 'She was involved in giving Rs100 crore to AAP leaders in return for benefits.' The statement said that due to 'corruption and conspiracy' in the formulation and implementation of Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, AAP continuously received illegal money in the form of bribes from wholesalers.

It alleges, 'Kavitha and her associates were to recover the proceeds of crime paid in advance to you and the entire conspiracy was to increase the proceeds/profits of crime.'

The agency, while requesting Kavitha's custody last week, had told the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court that she was 'one of the main conspirators and beneficiaries of the Delhi Excise Policy scam.' Kavita had said that she had not done anything wrong. She had alleged that the central government was 'using' the ED.

Former Chief Minister of Telangana K. Chandrashekhar Rao's daughter and Legislative Council member Kavitha (46) was arrested by the ED from her residence in Hyderabad last week and is in the custody of the investigating agency till March 23.