New Delhi:

The government on Wednesday held a 40-minute meeting United States’ Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, who was summoned to the Ministry of External Affairs’ office in Delhi’s South Block.

This comes a day after a US State Department spokesperson said it is monitoring reports of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest, and called on New Delhi to ensure “a fair and timely legal process” for the jailed Aam Aadmi Party leader.

“We take strong objection to the remarks of the Spokesperson of the US State Department about certain legal proceedings in India. In diplomacy, states are expected to be respectful of the sovereignty and internal affairs of others. This responsibility is even more so in case of fellow democracies. It could otherwise end up setting unhealthy precedents. India’s legal processes are based on an independent judiciary which is committed to objective and timely outcomes. Casting aspersions on that is unwarranted,” the MEA said.

The US State Department’s comments came, in turn, days after Germany’s Foreign Office stressed that Mr Kejriwal, like any other Indian citizen facing charges, is entitled to a fair and impartial trial.

The Indian government reacted strongly to the comment, summoning the German envoy and labelling the Foreign Office spokesperson’s remark “blatant interference in internal matters”.

“We see such remarks as interfering in our judicial process and undermining the independence of our judiciary,” the External Affairs Ministry said, “Biased assumptions are most unwarranted.”

Asked about India’s protest to Germany, the State Department spokesperson told Reuters, “We refer you to the German Foreign Ministry for comment on their discussions with the Indian government.”

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate last week in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam that has roiled his AAP and provoked furious protests from the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha election. Mr Kejriwal was this week sent to jail till March 28.

The Enforcement Directorate believes the now-scrapped liquor policy provided an impossibly high profit margin of 185 per cent for retailers and 12 per cent for wholesalers. Of the latter, six per cent – over Rs 600 crore – were bribes and the money was allegedly used to fund the AAP’s poll campaigns.

Meanwhile, Mr Kejriwal is in the Delhi High Court today to challenge his arrest.

The ED has labelled the Chief Minister as a key conspirator in this case, but Mr Kejriwal and party colleagues arrested in this matter – ex-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, and former Health Minister Satyendar Jain – have all denied the charges.

The AAP and the opposition have hit out at the BJP-led central government for using central agencies, like the ED, to target rivals and critics before the general election. The AAP has criticised Mr Kejriwal’s arrest on grounds it was timed to interfere with his plans to campaign for the party.

The BJP has dismissed claims it uses central agencies as described by the opposition.

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s home in Delhi over a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy case that haunts the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Mr Singh joins Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, Telangana politician K Kavitha, and others in being raided, questioned or arrested, or all three in connection with alleged corruption in the now-withdrawn liquor sales policy introduced by the Delhi government in 2021.

READ | Searches At AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s House In Delhi Liquor Policy Case

Mr Sisodia was arrested in March and has failed in repeated attempts to get bail.

READ | CBI Explains Why Manish Sisodia Was Arrested After 8-Hour Questioning

Months before today’s raids, a defiant Mr Singh posed next to posters outside his home “welcoming” the Enforcement Directorate; that photo was re-shared on X by the AAP, with fire emojis, this morning.

ED Raids On Sanjay Singh

Today’s raids against Mr Singh comes after he was named by an accused in the case – businessman Dinesh Arora – who later became an ‘approver’, and a font of information for the authorities.

READ | Delhi Liquor Policy Case Explained: Allegations, Investigations, Arrests

Mr Arora was released on bail on August 1.

The agency believes Sanjay Singh arranged the meeting between Dinesh Arora and Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Mr Sisodia was then the Delhi government’s excise minister.

The Enforcement Directorate, which has filed three chargesheets so far, has never actually named Sanjay Singh as an accused nor summoned him to record a statement. The agency has, however, referred to the AAP leader in its documents – something that sparked a massive row of its own.

A furious Mr Singh claimed a conspiracy to “tarnish” his political credentials and image. He wrote to the Union Finance Secretary (the Enforcement Directorate reports to the Finance Ministry) for permission to prosecute the agency chief for making “false and derogatory claims” against him.

This was after the central agency told the courts one (of four) reference to Mr Singh was a “typographical/clerical error”; the agency said it wanted to name Rahul Singh – then the Delhi excise commissioner – at that place, and that naming Sanjay Singh was an “inadvertent error”.

The AAP, however, alleged Mr Singh’s name has been mentioned in the chargesheet “at the behest of the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office)” to defame the party and its leaders. Mr Singh slammed the agency for conducting “a baseless” probe into the alleged scam.

Arvind Kejriwal Responds

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of his colleague.

READ | “1,000 Searches But Nothing”: Arvind Kejriwal As AAP MP Is Raided

He has accused the Enforcement Directorate of acting on behalf of the BJP (he did not name the party) to target rivals ahead of next year’s general election. Mr Kejriwal also claimed “more than 1,000 raids” had failed to find “a single paise” of illegally acquired money.

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