BJP today launched a
counter-attack on Arvind Kejriwal after he called Narendra Modi a "coward" over CBI raid at his principal secretary's office, saying it has become a "fashion" with the Delhi Chief Minister to "quarrel" with the Centre and blame the Prime Minister for "everything".
"Why should we handle anybody? We are in a federal system and everybody has been assigned their responsibilities and they have to act in accordance with the Constitution.
"It has become a fashion with the Delhi Chief Minister to quarrel with the Central Government and that, too, to take the name of the Prime Minister for each and everything. The CBI does not function under the government," Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu reacted.
Senior BJP leader Naidu said "unlike during the Congress regimes", the NDA Government does not "misuse" CBI and allows it to function independently.
"Gone are the days of the Congress government when CBI would be misused. Today, CBI is an independent organisation and Government does not interfere at all. So, how can you criticise the Government of India and the Prime Minister," he asked, adding government does not monitor the CBI.
Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar termed Kejriwal's reaction as "atrocious" and accused the latter of "protecting" corrupt and engaging in "worst kind of politics" by targeting Modi for the same.
"Arvind Kejriwal's reaction on the CBI raid is atrocious. CBI raids only when they receive a credible complaint and they want to investigate the corruption matter. Kejriwal is protecting corruption.
"And instead of immediately taking action against his officials, he is accusing the Prime Minister. This is worst kind of politics," he added.
He maintained it was "hypocrisy of politics" that Kejriwal's party came into existence on the plank of anti-graft movement but is supporting corruption now - an apparent reference to AAP's angry reaction to CBI's raid at Delhi Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar's office.
"When CBI is acting against corruption, he is accusing PM of corruption. This is absolutely unacceptable. He (Kejriwal) is exposed through and he is protecting corruption," Javadekar said.
Kejriwal today claimed the CBI has raided his office in central Delhi and launched a no holds barred attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he was resorting to "cowardice".
The Chief Minister, who is involved in a prolonged tussle with the Centre, accused the Modi government of resorting to vendetta politics and came down heavily on the agency for the raids at Players Building.
BJP's Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi defended CBI saying it
does not take action without "substantial" evidences.
"If CBI raids, it does so with substantial evidence. One of their officer is already trapped on similar charges of corruption. So, it is not the PM asking anyone to engage in corruption, they only are resorting to such (corrupt) practice," party MP Meenakshi Lekhi said.
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Strongly objecting to Kejriwal calling Modi a "coward and psychopath", BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said it showed the Delhi chief minister's desperation to "protect an officer accused of corruption."
"Why this double standard? On the one hand he dismisses a minister accused of corruption and on the other hand he is protecting an officer charged with corruption. Why is he covering up corruption of some?" Sharma said.
It was most unfortunate that Kejriwal had used such words to target the prime minister who has declared a "war on corruption," he said.
Noting that a former Delhi law minister was arrested in a fake degree case and was protected by Kejriwal for long, Sharma said he had often in the past tried to save the guilty and then apologised later.
