World
India
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is currently on bail in relation to the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam, has suffered a fresh legal blow. A Delhi court has directed the registration of an FIR against Kejriwal and AAP leaders Gulab Singh and Nitika Sharma on allegations of misuse of public funds for erecting giant hoardings.
This directive follows after a petition was presented requesting the lodging of cases against the trio.
FIR to be registered after court’s ruling
The Rouse Avenue Court ordered the Delhi Police to file the FIR and file a compliance report by March 18. The case goes back to 2019 when the AAP leaders were accused of spending public funds on putting up hoardings in the city. The petition had already been dismissed by a lower court.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been alleging for years that the AAP has been using public funds for publicity purposes. In January 2022, the Directorate of Information and Publicity requested the AAP to refund Rs 163.62 crore, including interest, incurred on political advertisements.
The BJP further alleged that the AAP had spent money on advertisement schemes more than was allocated for them in the cases of the Business Blasters, Desh Ke Mentor, and Stubble Management schemes.
Kejriwal in the dock over personal expenditure
Apart from the hoardings controversy, Kejriwal and the AAP have also been taken to task for expenditure on the renovation of the Chief Minister’s official residence, which the BJP has referred to as the “Sheeshmahal.” The AAP justified the expenditure, saying that the residence, constructed in 1942, needed immediate repairs, as suggested by the Public Works Department.
The persistent controversies have also had political costs for Kejriwal and the AAP. In the last Delhi Assembly polls, the party’s seat tally fell sharply from 60 to 22, while the BJP won 48 seats. Kejriwal himself lost the New Delhi constituency to the BJP candidate Parvesh Verma by more than 4,000 votes.
Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate has received approval to prosecute Kejriwal and his former deputy, Manish Sisodi, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the liquor policy case, further complicating the AAP leader’s legal and political situation.
ALSO READ: PM Modi Honored With Mauritius’s ‘Highest Civilian’ Award For Strengthening Bilateral Ties
