Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Virendra Sachdeva on Saturday, 9 May condemned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal for holding a press conference and characterising the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on Punjab AAP president and state minister Sanjeev Arora as a political conspiracy. Sachdeva argued that Kejriwal's visible nervousness at the briefing revealed an awareness that the ED probe could eventually implicate him as well.

Sachdeva's Allegations Against Kejriwal

The Delhi BJP president claimed that Kejriwal appeared visibly nervous during the press conference, which he said was a telling sign. Sachdeva alleged that Kejriwal is the "mastermind behind the entire extortion conspiracy" and that the investigation into Arora could eventually reach him. He described the arrest of Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora — following an alleged money-laundering raid linked to builders — as a reflection of what he called ten years of corruption-ridden AAP governance, first witnessed in Delhi.

Sachdeva recalled that during AAP's tenure in Delhi, the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Members of Parliament were jailed in connection with the excise policy scam. He alleged that for the last four years, Punjab has become what he described as "a centre of loot for Team Arvind Kejriwal."

Land-Use Corruption Allegations in Punjab

Drawing a parallel with the alleged Delhi liquor scam, Sachdeva claimed that a similar pattern of large-scale corruption is taking place in Punjab. He alleged that major builders are being granted permissions for land-use changes, excessive Floor Area Ratio (FAR) approvals, and plotting permissions in exchange for kickbacks. "Just as the AAP government in Delhi allegedly orchestrated a scam worth thousands of crores in collusion with liquor contractors, a similar game of large-scale corruption is allegedly taking place in Punjab," Sachdeva said.

He also referred to an ED raid conducted just two days prior at the premises of a close associate of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, during which, he claimed, bundles of cash worth lakhs of rupees were reportedly seen. Sachdeva noted that Sanjeev Arora is not the first AAP Punjab minister to face arrest on corruption charges. Earlier, AAP minister Dr. Sanjeev Singla, Fauja Singh Sirari, and AAP MLA Raman Arora had also been arrested on corruption charges, he said.

Kejriwal's Counter: Political Vendetta Claim

At his press conference, Kejriwal pushed back sharply, alleging that the Centre had escalated ED raids in Punjab immediately after the Bengal elections concluded. "As soon as the Bengal elections ended, PM Modi started conducting daily ED raids in Punjab. In the past few years, Modi ji has dealt a heavy blow to Punjab. Punjabis have been harassed in every possible way," Kejriwal said.

The AAP leader further alleged that the Centre had launched attacks on Punjab's water rights, attempted to take over Punjab University, withheld funds for rural development, and was now unleashing relentless ED raids on the state. AAP has consistently maintained that the ED actions are politically motivated, a charge the BJP has rejected.

What's Next

The escalating war of words between the BJP and AAP over the ED's Punjab operations signals that the political fallout from the Sanjeev Arora arrest is far from over. With multiple AAP functionaries already having faced legal proceedings and the ED probe reportedly ongoing, both sides are expected to intensify their public posturing in the days ahead.