AAP’s Durgesh Pathak Says CBI Raids Meant To Scare Him

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Durgesh Pathak on Thursday launched an attack against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in the centre, accusing them of using raids to “scare” him and others in the party.

He said he would cooperate with the investigative agencies but would not get scared.

“I think this is merely a tactic to scare AAP leaders and workers. I will fully cooperate with the investigative agencies, but I will not be scared,” Pathak, who is the co-incharge of AAP in Gujarat, said while addressing a press conference.

He said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials who came to his residence with a search warrant didn’t find anything and failed to inform him about the matter at hand.

“The CBI team thoroughly investigated my two-room house for three to four hours. They search every corner (in the house). If they found a book, they turned each page. They checked everything but didn’t find anything. While going back, they took photocopies of the Aadhaar cards of people who used to come for assistance regarding their work when I was an MLA. There were nearly five to six people,” Pathak said.

He called out the ruling party’s alleged “tactic” of “scaring” AAP leaders and workers. Pathak claimed that the raids happened after the party appointed him in charge of Gujarat ahead of the forthcoming assembly elections, which are scheduled to be held in 2027.

“I have no idea why they came, and in connection with what case…they didn’t tell me either. They showed me a search warrant, and I invited them in. Since the party has made me co-incharge in Gujarat, I think they came to scare me because of that. I think like this because AAP emerged as an alternative during the previous assembly elections in Gujarat, where five of our MLAs had won, after which they arrested Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satyendra Jain, and Sanjay Singh,” he added.

The CBI is probing AAP leaders Durgesh Pathak and Kapil Bhardwaj for alleged FCRA violations. The case pertains to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and some of its office bearers for allegedly violating the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, as amended in 2020.

According to the FIR, the case is against AAP office bearers, including Durgesh Pathak and Kapil Bhardwaj.

The CBI is now formally investigating, based on permission from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) initiated the probe under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and shared findings with the MHA. (ANI)