Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Archives - Lokmarg

Sanjay Singh Allowed To Visit Parliament Again To Take Oath

By LokMarg 6th February 2024

The Rouse Avenue Court of Delhi on Tuesday permitted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh for the second time to go to Parliament in police custody and take oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. The court has allowed Singh to go to Parliament on February 8 or February 9.

Special Judge MK Nagpal while allowing Sanjay Singh’s application stated that on February 3, 2024, this court had directed the jail authorities to take the accused to Rajya Sabha under judicial custody for administration of oath as a member.

However, it has been submitted that though he was taken to the Rajya Sabha the oath could not be administered to him due to certain reasons and hence he is directed to be taken again to the Rajya Sabha on February 8 and February 9, 2024, said the Court.

The court further directed that the applicant shall be taken to Rajyasabha from judicial custody and under appropriate security for administration of oath on either of the above dates on which he may be required to visit for the above purpose. In this regard, the Jail superintendent is being directed to communicate with the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.

The Court has allowed Singh’s Lawyer to visit Tihar Jail to meet Sanjay Singh to take his signatures on relevant documents.

Advocates Rajat Bharadwaj and Mohd Irshad appeared for Singh in the matter and Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta appeared for the Enforcement Directorate.

It was submitted by the counsels for Singh that certain documents are required to be signed by the accused and these have to be submitted in the concerned office of Rajya Sabha so that the applicant can be called for administration of oath and the date will then be finalised by said office only.

On February 5, 2024, Sanjay Singh was not sworn in as Rajya Sabha MP as Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar refused to allow him to take the oath and stated that proceedings of the Upper House are regulated by the listed business which is notified in the bulletin. Oath taking of Sanjay Singh wasn’t listed in the business of the House and no communication from Rajya Sabha on this matter ever came for consideration.

Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Last week, the Delhi High Court kept the order reserved on a regular bail plea moved by Singh in Delhi’s Excise policy case. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on October 4, 2023, in the case.

In its reply filed by ED in the bail matter, the probe agency has opposed the bail petition of Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh and alleged that he was involved in creating a special purpose vehicle to launder the proceeds of crime that would have been generated from the business arising out the policy changes as conspired by him and his co-conspirators.

Sanjay Singh was then involved in acquiring, possessing, concealing, dissipating and using proceeds of crime generated from the Delhi Liquor Scam pertaining to the policy period of 2021-22, said ED. (ANI)

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95% Cases Registered By CBI, ED Are Against Opposition: Raghav

By LokMarg 10th October 2023

Alleging that central agencies are silent in the BJP-ruled states, Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha added that 95 per cent of the cases registered by the CBI and ED are against politicians of the opposition.

Addressing a news conference here, on Tuesday, the AAP leader said, “In BJP-ruled states agencies are silent and in non-BJP-ruled states agencies are violent. From 2004 to 2014, when there was a UPA Govt in power, ED raided only 112 locations. But from 2014 to 2023, ED raided 3100 locations.”

He further said that the BJP has a special love for AAP, they have jailed several leaders in false cases.

“95 per cent of the cases registered by CBI and ED are against politicians of the Opposition. They have a special love for AAP, they have jailed several of our leaders in false cases…This will be done by only those people who are scared of the INDIA alliance,” he added.

Chadha asserted that the AAP is a party that doesn’t get scared of the agencies’ attacks.

“AAP is a party that doesn’t get scared of the attacks of agencies. Truth and honesty are on the side of AAP and we will fight till the end. BJP may make thousands of attempts and jail whichever AAP leader they want under any false case – in the end, truth, honesty, Arvind Kejriwal and AAP will win. As the Lok Sabha elections approach, attacks by agencies and a nervous BJP will increase,” he added.

Earlier, Sanjay Singh was arrested on October 4, after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence.

Later, on October 5, the Court sent Sanjay Singh to remand till October 10, 2023, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

Meanwhile today, the Rouse Avenue Court here extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh till October 13 in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy case.

Allegedly, Sanjay Singh’s party colleague and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also involved in the same liquor policy scam. He is currently lodged in jail in connection with the same. The former Delhi Deputy CM and excise minister was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

The case connects with claims that Singh and his partners played a part in the Delhi government’s decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws. (ANI)

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Raid AAP MLA Amanatullah’s Residence

By LokMarg 10th October 2023

The Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at the premises of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan in connection with a money laundering case.

The searches are being undertaken under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED action is based on an FIR filed by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and another filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The cases are related to alleged corruption involving illegal appointments to the Delhi Waqf Board, where Khan serves as the chairman.

Khan was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in September last year in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board corruption case on the basis of the recovery of alleged incriminating material and evidence. But he was later granted bail.

According to an official statement, Khan, as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board, illegally recruited 32 persons violating all norms and government guidelines.

He is also alleged to have indulged in corruption and favouritism.

The raids at the premises of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan comes close on the heels of the arrest of fellow AAP leader Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy ‘scam’.

The AAP Rajya Sabha MP was arrested from his residence in the national capital by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

He was the second prominent AAP leader to be arrested in the liquor policy case after former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Earlier, another AAP leader and former Delhi Health minister Satyendar Jain had been arrested in a separate case. (ANI)

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AAP Condemns Sanjay’s Arrest In Liquor Policy Case

By LokMarg 4th October 2023

Coming down heavily on the BJP-led central government after the arrest of Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case on Wednesday, AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj called it a demonstration of the BJP’s desperation and fear of loss ahead of the upcoming elections.

Addressing a press conference in the national capital with fellow AAP leaders Atishi and Priyanka Kakkar, Bhardwaj accused the BJP-led regime of unleashing the central agencies on Opposition leaders.

“Sanjay Singh was arrested without a shred of evidence or reason. This is nothing but an act of desperation. It only goes to show that Prime Minister Modi knows that he is losing the upcoming elections. It is the BJP’s desperation and fear of loss that are prompting it to unleash the central agencies on Opposition leaders,” Bhardwaj said.

“People have made up their minds to throw out the BJP in the poll-bound states. Leaders are often drawn to such desperate actions when they sense that they are losing their hold on power,” the AAP leader added.

Delhi Minister Atishi also hit out at the Centre over Sanjay Singh’s arrest, calling it a “pre-planned script.”

“It was a pre-planned script. ED officials went to his (Singh’s) residence, sat there for eight hours before arresting him. It only exposes the BJP’s desperation to go after the Opposition, sensing defeat in the upcoming elections. The PM is aware that be it the upcoming assembly elections or the Lok Sabha election next year, the people have decided to vote out the BJP,” Atishi said.

Later, speaking to ANI, the AAP leader said Singh’s arrest was nothing but an attempt to muzzle the Opposition’s voice, adding that the INDIA bloc will continue undeterred and undaunted in its fight to save the Constitution.

“The BJP knows they are losing the upcoming elections. Yesterday, there were raids on senior journalists, and today, Sanjay Singh was arrested. This is clearly an attempt to stifle the Opposition’s voice. However, these arrests and intimidatory tactics would not stop us from our fight to save the Constitution,” she told ANI.

AAP MLA Somnath Bharti also shredded the BJP over the arrest of the fellow AAP leader saying, “This is the beginning of an undeclared emergency in the country.”

“The BJP will lose the next Lok Sabha elections. The INDIA bloc will win. They don’t even have a sliver of evidence against Sanjay Singh, much less a money trail. This is merely an expression of their desperation and frustration. We will continue to fight against them in courts, on roads, and in the Parliament,” Bharti told ANI.

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Sanjay Singh in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-withdrawn new excise policy of Delhi.

It is the second high-profile arrest in the case after former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. The arrest came hours after the ED conducted raids at the residence of the AAP Rajya Sabha MP in connection with the case. (ANI)

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AAP Retorts To Cong Charges: Zero Tolerance For Drugs Smugglers

By LokMarg 28th September 2023

Refuting the charges of Congress that the arrest of their party leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira in an eight-years-old drug case is vendetta politics, Punjab Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday said that the allegations do not hold any ground as the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann government in the border state has zero-tolerance policy against drug smugglers.

A senior spokesperson of Punjab AAP, Jagtar Singh Dyalpura, said that “sufficient admissible evidence” has been found against the Congress leader and that the case has links from Pakistan to England.

While speaking to ANI, Jagtar Singh said, “The case is about Sukhpal’s involvement in a drug smuggling case. This is an old case. A case was registered in 2015. Sukhpal had connections with one of the accused. But, the then government led by SAD didn’t book him. But as the case came closer to verdict, the judge noted that Sukhpal’s name was emerging many times.”

Punjab Police arrested Khaira from his Chandigarh residence earlier this morning in connection with an old case registered in 2015 under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The AAP spokesperson told ANI that an SIT was formed in April this year, which found “sufficient admissible evidence” against Sukhpal Singh. “The case has links from Pakistan to England,” he added.

Meanwhile, a Congress delegation called on Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit at Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh and briefed the latter about the arrest of party MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira in detail.

While speaking to reporters after meeting the Governor, state party unit chief Amarinder Raja Singh Warring said, “We briefed the Governor about everything that happened with Sukhpal Singh Khaira. How a false case was booked. How jungle raj has begun in Punjab. How vendetta politics is being done by involving him in an 8-year-old case…

“A set-up was made and without summoning him, a case was registered and police came directly to catch him,” the Congress leader said.

On Congress’ cry of vendetta politics, he said, “CM Bhagwant Mann led government is in Punjab and there is a zero-tolerance policy against drug smugglers.”

Moreover, in 2015, there were two cases originated with the unearthing of a cross-border drug smuggling network in Fazilka, Punjab, leading to the seizure of heroin, gold biscuits, weapons, cartridges, and Pakistani SIM cards and the second of a fake passport racket being run in Delhi.

As the trial went on, nine smugglers, including Gurdev Singh, Manjit Singh, Harbans Singh, and Subhash Chander, were sentenced in October 2017 in connection with the Fazilka case. As per the chargesheet, Khaira was closely associated with Gurdev Singh, the leader of the Fazilka drug smuggling racket, and is accused of having sheltered him.

The primary accusations against Khaira include supporting an international gang of smugglers, having sheltered him and receiving financial benefits from drug traffickers, and enjoying the proceeds of crime.

On February 16, 2023, a Supreme Court bench of Justices BR Gavai and Vikram Nath quashed the summoning order against Khaira in the drugs case.

The arrest of Sukhpal Khaira is expected to further dent the relations of AAP and the Congress which have come together to form the INDIA alliance at the centre. The state unit of the Congress has opposed any tie-up or seat-sharing arrangement with the AAP in Punjab. (ANI)

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AAP Joined INDIA Bloc To Prepare Blueprint For Better India: Raghav

By LokMarg 30th August 2023

Ahead of the third INDIA bloc meet in Mumbai, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha on Wednesday said that AAP has joined INDIA to prepare a blueprint for a better India.

“AAP has not joined the INDIA alliance for the PM post. Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race to become the PM. We have joined the INDIA alliance to prepare a blueprint for a better India,” the AAP MP said.

“If any party is saying this (that AAP has joined the INDIA bloc for the PM post), it means that we have many capable faces for the PM post. Many prominent leaders are the part of INDIA alliance,” he added.

He further asked, do they (BJP/NDA) have any such face except PM Modi.

“Is there anyone in the BJP who can say that they want Nitin Gadkari, Yogi Adityanath or someone from Chirag Paswan’s party to become the next PM face…At their party, one can’t even express this kind of thought,” he said.

Earlier in the day, AAP leader Sanjay Singh said party national convener Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race for Prime Minister.

“Arvind Kejriwal’s motive to join the INDIA Alliance is to save the country. Arvind Kejriwal is not in the race to be a Prime Minister. The issues like PM candidate and seat sharing will be decided by consensus by the alliance,” Sanjay Singh told ANI.

The third meeting of the INDIA alliance will be held in Maharashtra’s Mumbai on August 31 and September 1.

The meeting will discuss the alliance strategies for the Lok Sabha election and the seat sharing in the states. A new logo of the INDIA alliance is also likely to be launched.

A total of 28 parties are likely to participate in the third meeting of the newly formed opposition alliance in Mumbai.

The parties have come together to take on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which is led by PM Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and prevent it from winning a third straight term at the Centre in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

The first meeting of the joint opposition convened in Patna on June 23 and the second meeting was held in Bengaluru on July 17-18. The third meeting is slated to be in Mumbai on August 31-September 1. (ANI)

Hindon-Ludhiana Flight To Be Launched In Summer: Scindia

By LokMarg 30th January 2023

Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Monday said that a regular flight between Hindon and Ludhiana will be launched in the summer.

Scindia’s announcement came after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora wrote a letter to him, requesting him not to disconnect Ludhiana from metro cities.
“The UDAN route ‘Hindon-Ludhiana-Hindon’ has been awarded to M/s Big Charters with a nineteen-seater type of aircraft under UDAN 4.2 bidding round, which may commence operation in Summer Schedule, 2023,” Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said while responding to AAP leader’s letter.

Earlier, Alliance Air operated a regular flight between Hindon and Ludhiana. Hindon airport in Ghaziabad is 24 km away from the New Delhi railway station. Alliance Air operated the flight for three years and discontinued it in August 2020.

Meanwhile, air services have been barred at Ludhiana airport due to the bidding process and regulator schedule.

The ministry is in the process to rope in another private airline to operate a flight to and from Ludhiana.

“UDAN route “Ludhiana-Delhi-Ludhiana” was awarded to M/s Alliance Air in the first round of bidding that commenced on September 1, 2017. The Airline discontinued the operations to the route on August 31, 2020, after completion of three years tenure,” Scindia’s letter read.

“At present, there are no scheduled flight operations at Ludhiana airport,” he added.

With the vision of ‘Let the common citizen of the country fly’ was launched by the Government of India with the aim of Ude-Desh-Ka-Aam-Nagrik (UDAN), but some airports and UDAN operations in Punjab have not been reopened even after Covid-19 pandemic. (ANI)