Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh, who was released from prison on bail on Wednesday, spoke about the Lok Sabha election and the excise policy case in an interaction with The Hindu. He said no law bars Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal from writing letters from jail. Excerpts:
The Delhi excise policy case looms large over AAP. Three senior leaders, including you, have been arrested in the case.
They don’t have any evidence in the liquor ‘scam’ case, neither against [Delhi Chief Minister] Arvind Kejriwal nor [former Deputy CM] Manish Sisodia. I can’t speak for myself because the court has asked me not to. But the money trail is in front of us, and the authorities are not following up on it. We have emerged stronger from the struggle, and like I got justice from the Supreme Court, so will Kejriwal and Sisodia. Besides, if the ED has evidence of money laundering [against AAP leaders], why are they not presenting it [before the court]?
The BJP has attacked AAP and Mr. Kejriwal, saying the Delhi government cannot be run from jail.
The jail manual has a lot of things about which the inmates are not informed. As for the letters, you can write as many as you wish. The jail authorities will read those letters, and if there is something objectionable, they will cut them out. Official letters are attested by the jail superintendent. Confidential letters are received and sent in sealed covers. I have communicated through all three kinds, so I can say with authority that there is no law barring the CM from doing the same.
With Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Sisodia in jail, many say you are the most senior leader of the party right now.
Since 2011, I’ve been a party worker and on the day of my release, I said the same. AAP is not just a party, it is a family for us. If the senior leaders are behind bars, we will brace ourselves to fight even harder.
Do you think the Opposition has gained momentum in Delhi after the mega rally at Ramlila Maidan?
In Delhi, AAP will put its best foot forward in the three constituencies being contested by Congress candidates and the Congress will do the same in the four seats where our candidates are fighting. I have faith that we will win seats in Delhi and remove the BJP from the Centre.
Since coming out of jail, you have raised the issue of electoral bonds several times. Could you elaborate on it?
The arrest of Kejriwal is a BJP conspiracy. The ED and CBI recorded 456 witness statements in the money laundering case. Out of those, only four statements mentioned Kejriwal. One of those statements was given by [TDP Lok Sabha candidate] Magunta Reddy, whose house was raided. When his son Raghav was put in jail for five months, Magunta Reddy’s statements suddenly changed. He gave a statement naming Kejriwal, and the next thing we know, Raghav got bail. Then let us come to [Aurobindo Pharma director] Sarath Reddy, whose house was raided by the agencies, after which he was arrested. He gave 12 statements, none of which mentioned Kejriwal. But the moment he named Kejriwal, Sarath Reddy got bail. Moreover, his accounts were not frozen when he was in jail and he was found to have donated money to the BJP through electoral bonds. This shows that it is the BJP that has committed a scam.
After receiving bail, you paid a visit to [Mr. Kejriwal’s wife] Sunita Kejriwal and the families of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. The BJP said you did this to get attention.
What the BJP says is not important. AAP works as a family, which is why I visited all three houses. I saw tears in the eyes of Sunita bhabhi for the very first time. Those tears will be avenged by the people of Delhi. Sisodia’s wife has been sick for 20 years and needs the support of her husband. Jain has been in jail for such a long time and lost a lot of weight. He is not keeping well. Delhi will take note of these things.
