Page 36 - Aap

ED raids being carried out to trample AAP, trouble us: Delhi CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday claimed that 23 Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers carried out raids at his personal assistant's residence for 16 hours but did not find anything. He also claimed that the houses of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders such as Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh were raided as well. But even there, the ED did not find anything, the national convener of the party said. These are being done to trample the AAP and trouble its members, Kejriwal said in a post on 'X'. The ED on Tuesday searched the premises of Kejriwal's personal assistant (PA) Bibhav Kumar and others as part of its probe into charges that the AAP and some officials received kickbacks of about Rs 21 crore through alleged irregularities in a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) contract, official sources said. The action is part of a money laundering investigation focusing on alleged bribes that were garnered through irregularities in the DJB tendering process and purportedly ...

10 million availed 'Aam Aadmi Clinic' services: Punjab health minister

More than one crore people have availed treatment at 'aam aadmi clinics' in Punjab, State Health Minister Balbir Singh said on Tuesday. There are 664 'aam aadmi clinics' --? 236 in urban areas and 428 in rural areas -- ?in the state. These provide free of cost treatment, offering 80 types of free medicines and 38 types of free diagnostics tests. "Over one crore people in the state have availed free treatment from these 'aam aadmi clinics' in the last one and half years," Singh said in a statement. At a virtual meeting with civil surgeons, deputy medical superintendents and senior medical officers to review ongoing projects, he also noted that all the clinics are IT-enabled with end-to-end digitisation of registration, doctor consultation, investigations and prescriptions. The state government has already rolled out the 'Farishtey' scheme under which free treatment is being provided to all road accident victims, irrespective of their nationality, caste or socio-economic status, he .

Sanjay Singh gets nod from court to attend Parliament to take oath as RS MP

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted fresh permission to AAP leader Sanjay Singh, arrested in alleged excise scam, to attend Parliament to take oath as a Rajya Sabha MP. Special Judge MK Nagpal allowed Singh to go to Parliament in police custody either on February 8 or 9. The judge passed the order on the application filed by Singh, seeking directions to the jail superintendent concerned for taking him physically to Rajya Sabha to take oath as its member. The judge had earlier on February 3 allowed a similar application filed by Singh. However, the AAP leader could not take oath despite reaching Parliament on Monday. Official sources cited the direction of Rajya Sabha on August 11, 2023 that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. The application sought direction to the authorities concerned to take him again to Rajya Sabha

Chandigarh mayoral elections: SC appalled by 'defacing' of ballots

Appalled by the alleged defacing of ballot papers in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the Supreme Court on Monday said this is a mockery of democracy and ordered that the ballots and the video of the electoral proceedings be preserved. Taking note of a plea of an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor alleging wrongdoing in the polls, the court issued notices to the Chandigarh authorities, including the civic body. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed annoyance after watching the video of the electoral proceedings and said that, prima facie, the returning officer was defacing the ballot papers. "This is a mockery of democracy. We are appalled by what has happened. We will not allow democracy to be murdered like this," the CJI said. The bench ordered that the ballot papers and the video recordings of the proceedings be preserved. One of the AAP councillors had moved the top court challenging a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that

AAP leader Sanjay Singh not allowed to take Rajya Sabha oath: Reports

Jailed AAP leader Sanjay Singh, who has been re-elected to Rajya Sabha from Delhi, on Monday could not take oath as it was not listed in the business of the House, sources in the Rajya Sabha secretariat said. Singh, who is in judicial custody in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, came to Parliament to take oath following permission from a Delhi court. The Aam Aadmi Party said Singh should have been allowed to take oath but official sources cited the August 11th direction of the Upper House that Singh's suspension for unruly conduct during the Monsoon session will remain in force and he cannot attend proceedings till the Privileges Committee submits its report and it is considered by the House. That the matter pertains to Singh's previous term has no impact on this, they said. "Summons (for oath taking) were not issued to Sanjay Singh who had also been elected, as he suffered the directives of the House passed on 11th August 2023 disentitling him

Delhi govt sanctions Rs 280 cr towards pensions of retired DTC employees

The Delhi government has sanctioned around Rs 280 crore for payment of pensions to more than 20,000 retired employees of the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) pending from September to January. The retired DTC employees had approached the government multiple times for the release of their pensions. "About Rs 280 crore has been sanctioned for payment of pending pension of more than 20,000 retired pensioner employees of DTC from September to January. The pending pension will be transferred to the pensioners' accounts within the next two to three days," Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said in a post on 'X' in Hindi. The Delhi government's finance department released grants of Rs 650 crore to the DTC last week, officials said.

Delhi AAP candidates not to enter villages during polls: Villagers body

A villagers body on Monday accused the MCD of not consulting them on preparing the budget and said the AAP candidates will not be allowed to enter the villages in the upcoming general and assembly elections. A group of people under the banner of Delhi Panchayat Sangh, an umbrella body representing 360 villages in Delhi, pasted a memorandum at the MCD headquarters here for not consulting them on preparing the budget 2024-25 as promised by the corporation. They also protested against Mayor Shelly Oberoi for not taking suggestions by the rural bodies to prepare the budget slated to be presented in the House on February 8. It claimed that the mayor did not give time to meet the leaders of the villages' when approached on Monday. "The mayor's neglect of the villagers will not be tolerated and the Aam Aadmi Party should be ready to bear the brunt of it. Aam Aadmi Party candidates will not be allowed to enter the villages in the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly elections," the body said in

Delhi High Court upholds summons against Kejriwal in defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Monday upheld summons issued to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as an accused in a criminal defamation case for retweeting an allegedly defamatory video circulated by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in May 2018, saying that reposting alleged libelous content will attract defamation law. The high court said a sense of responsibility has to be attached while retweeting content about which one does not have knowledge and added that retweeting of defamatory content must invite penal, civil as well as tort action if the person retweeting it does not attach a disclaimer. This court is of the view that rigours of Section 499 (defamation) of IPC will be attracted prima facie in case a person retweets/ reposts the alleged defamatory remarks or content, for the purpose of the general public to see, appreciate and believe, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said. The high court, while refusing to quash the trial court's 2019 order summoning Kejriwal, said when a public figure tweets a .

Delhi court extends Sisodia's custody, allows him to visit ailing wife

A court here on Monday allowed senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia, arrested in a Delhi excise policy case, to visit his ailing wife once a week while in custody. Special judge M K Nagpal also extended the judicial custody of Sisodia till February 22 after he was produced before the court on the expiry of his remand granted earlier. The judge passed the order while adjourning his bail application in excise policy-related cases filed by the CBI and the ED. Sisodia had sought custody parole to visit his ailing wife twice a week. The judge, meanwhile, directed the CBI to file a detailed status report about its further investigation in connection with the alleged excise policy case by February 22, the next date of hearing. The judge passed the direction to the CBI after the defence counsel objected to "non-full disclosure" about the status of the investigation. During the proceedings, the CBI filed a report stating that the investigation is ongoing and at a crucial stage, adding that th

Excise policy: SC defers hearing on Sanjay Singh's plea against his arrest

The Supreme Court on Monday deferred till March 5 the hearing on AAP leader Sanjay Singh's plea challenging his arrest and remand in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta adjourned the matter after it was informed by Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Enforcement Directorate (ED), that the order on Singh's regular bail plea had been reserved by the Delhi High Court on January 31. "He has moved for regular bail before the high court and order has been reserved on his petition. Kindly adjourn it for a while," Raju requested the court. The bench said it is listing the matter for hearing on March 5. On November 20 last year, the top court had sought responses from the Centre and the ED on Singh's plea challenging his arrest and remand in the case. The top court had said that if Singh filed a petition for regular bail in the interregnum, then it should be considered independent

Kejriwal writes to Delhi LG; urges to remove health, finance secretaries

Earlier on Saturday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal expressing his "deep disappointment and concern" with regard to the "pathetic state" of hospitals

Police notice over MLA poaching allegation does not mention FIR: Atishi

Delhi Minister Atishi on Sunday said the notice served to her by the city police in connection with the MLA poaching allegation made by her does not have any mention of an FIR or include penal provisions. She said at a press conference that they have sympathy for the Crime Branch officers who are being forced by their "political bosses" to indulge in such "theatrics". "Yesterday (Saturday), the Delhi Police's Crime Branch served a notice to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Today, they served a notice to me. However, the notice does not have any mention of an FIR. It does not even include any section of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) or CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure) or PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) or Prevention of Corruption Act," she said. A team of the Delhi Police's Crime Branch on Sunday visited Atishi's home and served her a notice in connection with an allegation that the BJP was attempting to "poach" AAP MLAs. Police sources said the Delhi minister's staff

Govt's developmental works won't stop even if I am jailed: CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said the ongoing developmental works of his government for the people would not stop even if he was sent to jail. Laying the foundation stone of two school buildings at Kirari here, Kejriwal said, "Manish Sisodia was put in jail because he built schools. Satyendar Jain was sent to jail because he built Mohalla clinics." Kejriwal alleged that central agencies such as ED and CBI have been unleashed on them (AAP leaders). "But even if you put Kejriwal in jail, the (ongoing) works of building schools and Mohalla clinics and providing free treatment to the people of Delhi will not stop. The BJP wants us to join their party but we will not bow down," he asserted. Reacting on the interim Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament on February 1, Kejriwal said it allocated only four per cent of the total budget for schools and hospitals while the Delhi government has been spending 40 per cent on education and ..

Delhi excise policy case: Court allows Sanjay Singh to take oath in custody

ED earlier told the court that Sanjay Singh was part of the conspiracy to collect kickbacks from liquor groups in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22

Cops visit Kejriwal, Atishi homes; fail to deliver notices to join probe

The Delhi Police Friday visited the official residences of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and cabinet minister Atishi to serve them notices to join the probe into their allegations that the BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs, but they did not accept the notices, sources said. The sources in the Delhi Police said Crime Branch teams will visit their residences again on Saturday to give them the notices. This comes days after the Delhi BJP submitted a complaint to Delhi Police Commissioner Sanjay Arora in the matter. The police sources said the notice was given to Kejriwal "but he did not accept it", a claim rejected by the AAP which said the crime branch team left without serving the notice. "The officials from the chief minister's office were ready to accept the notice but the Delhi Police left without handing over anything," an AAP source said. Referring to the notice meant for Kejriwal, sources in the police said he is supposed to join the probe. Another Crime Branch team went to

AAP, BJP protests: Security tightened in Central Delhi, police deployed

Security has been stepped-up in Central Delhi with the deployment of additional personnel in view of demonstrations by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP on Friday, police said. While the AAP will stage a protest outside the BJP headquarters over alleged cheating in the Chandigarh mayoral polls, the BJP has said its members will protest near the AAP head office against the "corruption" of the Arvind Kejriwal government. The headquarters of both the parties is on the Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg and the distance between them is less than 800 metres. A senior police officer said that appropriate arrangements have been made. "Adequate security arrangements have been made in view of the protests. Additional personnel have been deployed. No one will be allowed to break the law," the officer said. Traffic movement will be hit on the Deen Dayal Upadhayay Marg, and accordingly, diversions will be effected, according to police. Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convener Kejriwal

Delhi govt alleges step-motherly treatment on Rs 1,168 cr Budget allocation

The Union Territory of Delhi was allocated Rs 1,168 crore in the interim budget for 2024-25 on Thursday, the same as in 2023-24, with the AAP government accusing the BJP-led Centre of meting out "step-motherly" treatment to the national capital. The transfer to Delhi from the Union home ministry included Rs 1,168 crore under the revenue head and Rs 0.01 crore under the capital head. In the 2022-23 budget, Delhi was allocated Rs 960 crore. The amount was increased to Rs 1,168.01 crore in 2023-24 and it remains the same for 2024-25. There were no grants in lieu of its share in central taxes and duties for Delhi. It was Rs 325 crore in the 2022-23 budget. The grants in return of Delhi's share in the pool of central taxes and duties were clubbed under the "central assistance to Union Territories" in the budget estimates of 2023-24 and have remained so in the interim budget for 2024-25. The allocation under central assistance to Delhi in the 2024-25 budget estimates was Rs 951 crore li

Delhi Waqf Board case: HC questions maintainability of Amanat's plea

However during the hearing Justice Rekha Palli questioned the maintainability of the plea

AAP to move Supreme Court for early hearing on Chandigarh mayoral election

The Aam Aadmi Party will move the Supreme Court seeking an early hearing of its plea on Chandigarh mayoral polls, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Wednesday. His statement came hours after the Punjab and Haryana High Court fused to grant any interim relief on the AAP's petition for setting aside Tuesday's mayoral election and seeking fresh mayoral polls. The HC also asked the Chandigarh administration to file its reply within three weeks and has adjourned the matter till February 26. The AAP-Congress alliance has alleged tampering with ballot papers by the presiding officer Anil Masih, a charge rejected by him and the BJP which won the election to all three posts. "We will move Supreme Court. We will seek an early hearing in the matter. There is a video of the whole thing," Mann said and questioned why the Chandigarh administration required three weeks to prepare a report. The chief minister was replying to queries at a news conference here on the sidelines of chairing

ED issues 5th summons to Kejriwal in excise policy money laundering case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh and the fifth summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for his questioning in the Delhi excise policy linked money laundering case, official sources said Wednesday. Kejriwal, also the national convenor of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has skipped four earlier summons issued by the federal agency for January 18 and January 3 and November 2 and December 21 in 2023. He had called these notices "illegal". It is understood that the fresh summons was for February 2. It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lt Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).