Amid claims and counter-claims, CBI today raided the office of an officer of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a corruption case that led the AAP chief to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "coward and psychopath" and intensifying the face-off between AAP and Centre.
The Chief Minister, however, claimed that his office was raided which was denied by the CBI as well as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Rajya Sabha where the opposition created an uprorar and forced a couple of adjournments.
"CBI raids my office," Kejriwal claimed in a tweet.
"When Modi cudn't handle me politically, he resorts to this cowardice. Modi is a coward and psychopath," he said in another tweet expressing his anguish over the raids.
A CBI Spokesperson, however, said the searches were being conducted only at the office of the Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar. Searches were being conducted at 14 locations in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
CBI sources claimed the case is against Kumar and six more accused
In the Rajya Sabha, Jaitley said Kejriwal's office was not raided and that the raid was in relation to a case of alleged corruption against an officer of the Delhi government.
The CBI raid has nothing to do with Kejriwal or his tenure and that the graft case against the officer also pertains to his past, he added.
This was countered by Kejriwal who tweeted, "FM lied in Parliament. My own office files are being looked into to get some evidence against me. Rajender is an excuse".
The BJP also hit back at Kejriwal with Union Minister Prakash Javadekar saying the CBI was only probing a complaint of corruption against an officer and maintained it has nothing to do with Kejriwal's office.
CBI sources said that a team of its officials went to the Delhi Secretariat, which houses office of Kejriwal and other ministers in the morning and conducted the search in the third floor of the building.
The CBI said it has registered a case against Rajendra Kumar on allegations of abusing his official position by "favouring a particular firm in the last few years in getting tenders from Delhi government departments."
"After taking warrants, searches are being conducted in the office and residence of Rajendra Kumar. The allegations against Rajendra Kumar were raised by Ashish Joshi, former Member Secretary, Delhi Dialogue Commission," the agency said.
The third floor of the secretariat also houses Kejriwal's office.
Delhi Government and AAP reacted angrily to the "raid". calling it a "darkest" day and "undeclared emergency" in the history of Indian democracy.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed the Centre was controlling the CBI and claimed the raid at Rajendra Kumar's office was aimed at sending message to officials "if they worked with Kejriwal honestly, they will be troubled."
Another AAP leader Ashutosh said CBI is "lying to the teeth" for saying that the office of the chief minister was raided and attacked Modi.
BJP condemned Kejriwal for the kind of language used to criticise Modi and said it was "absolutely unacceptable".
"Does he want to protect the corrupt?," Javedekar asked, adding, "Instead of taking action against the corrupt, he is accusing the prime minister. This is absolutely unacceptable.
