There may be some questions of propriety arising from the > CBI raids on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s office, but the development need not have been followed by the unsavoury political war that has broken out between the Aam Aadmi Party and the BJP — indeed, between the Delhi and Central governments. The agency could have displayed greater tact while conducting the searches in the Delhi Secretariat, aimed at Mr. Kejriwal’s Principal Secretary > Rajender Kumar , as it has given the impression that the Chief Minister’s office was also searched. It is normal for a raided spot to be closed to the media, but by keeping Mr. Kejriwal out of his office the CBI has given room for speculation that his office was also searched. It may be difficult to fault the agency for conducting the search without any forewarning, but in a federal set-up, searching the premises of a serving Chief Minister will always be looked at with suspicion, especially when the incumbent is not the subject of a probe. In September, there was a > CBI raid on Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh , but he had been under investigation and there was no room for any oblique motive to be alleged, except by painting it all as political vendetta. > Mr. Kejriwal’s claim that the documents seized included a ‘file movement register’ pertaining to the period November 15-December 15, 2015, if true, could give credence to his charge that the investigation is not confined to Mr. Kumar’s decisions during the period from 2007 to 2014. But his grievance that he is being targeted in the name of a probe against his Principal Secretary requires more proof. Meanwhile, perceptions of the use of the CBI for political ends by governments persists.
> Mr. Kejriwal’s outburst against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling him a “coward” and a “psychopath”, was unbecoming of a serving Chief Minister. Such bluster makes one wonder whether he sees the irony of questioning an investigation, given the unlimited powers he had sought for a Jan Lokpal. There is, however, no doubt that Mr. Kejriwal has been quick to see the raids as an opportunity to nominate himself as a national face of the > anti-Modi political coalition . Being in confrontation over a principle of governance with powers greater than himself has been part of Mr. Kejriwal’s strategy of giving his politics a mobilising edge. And now as the >AAP looks to expand its electoral footprint in the Punjab Assembly elections , having politicians from other parties ranged behind him on a series of issues will certainly help. For its part, even if they had been unaware of the impending raids, the response of BJP spokespersons and Ministers could not have been more self-defeating. Politically, they have allowed Mr. Kejriwal to take the fight to them on his terms and put them on the defensive — the onus is now on them to explain the federal spirit that informs their equation with Opposition governments in the States.
