The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday hit out at the BJP after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out a raid at AAP Delhi unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj’s residence. AAP’s National Chief Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar called the action a diversionary stunt, saying it was ordered by “fake degree holders in a fake case” to distract from the raging debate on PM Modi’s forged degree. She said the raid was not only baseless but laughable, since Bharadwaj was not even a minister at the time of the case being cited. Addressing a press conference, AAP Chief National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar stated, “Those with fake degrees have got a fake case registered to trigger an ED raid on Saurabh Bharadwaj. The real issue was simply this — on Monday, the entire country wanted to know why PM Modi refused to show his degree in court. To suppress this news, once again investigative agencies were misused, and a raid was conducted at the home of AAP Delhi Unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj. Perhaps PM Modi’s degree is fake. That is why such absurd allegations have been made, which will not stand before the people and will not stand in court at all.”
Pointing to the allegations, Priyanka Kakkar said, “Those with fake degrees are saying that there were irregularities in the approvals given to 31 hospitals in 2016, 2018-19 and 2021. They don’t even file FIRs, they just throw allegations through press releases. But these allegations are utterly baseless because only a minister can give approvals, and Saurabh Bharadwaj became Health Minister in 2023. Before him, Satyendar Jain was the Health Minister, who was harassed by being kept in jail for three years, his family was troubled, his name was maligned, and the result today is that CBI is filing closure reports one by one in his cases.” Questioning the misuse of agencies, she added, “Does the country’s public pay taxes so that ED and CBI can file false cases? Their work was to bring back black money and to catch fugitives like Mehul Bhai Choksi. But their focus is only on filing cases against AAP leaders and silencing their voices. By now BJP and the Prime Minister should have understood that AAP will not be intimidated. For how long will ED and CBI continue tarnishing their names at BJP’s behest? Even the Supreme Court has called them ‘crooks’ and a ‘caged parrot’. These agencies must free themselves from the clutches of this ‘fake degree’ government.”
Highlighting AAP’s governance record, Priyanka Kakkar said, “AAP proudly says that we are the only party that worked on education and health services in such a way that BJP lost its sleep. BJP only knows Hindu-Muslim politics and horse-trading. In Delhi, within seven months, BJP has created such a mess that there are power cuts of six hours, waterlogging everywhere, even AIIMS got flooded. Senior BJP leaders themselves admit that under their rule, health and education have gone out of the reach of common people.” Recalling Arvind Kejriwal’s emphasis on healthcare, she asserted, “Arvind Kejriwal repeatedly says that the middle class is one hospital bill away from poverty. We were fixing this system — and we did fix it. BJP should try doing this in their states too. Instead of raiding us, they should catch the real thieves for whom ED and CBI are paid salaries from the people’s taxes. In court, ED and CBI are humiliated repeatedly, yet they feel no shame.” Making AAP’s stand clear, Priyanka Kakkar said, “AAP will not be scared of these absurd allegations and BJP’s politics of vengeance. Pay some attention to the governance of Delhi and the country. The world is moving ahead, while we are still struggling for basic facilities.”
