Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday said he repeatedly offered to be arrested during the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) raid at his residence, asserting that he would not bow under pressure. He also announced that he will address a press conference on Wednesday.
“I told the ED teams that if they want to arrest me, they can. I made this proposal to them three times. I am a follower of Arvind Kejriwal, I will not work as they wish. I will hold a press conference tomorrow, and they can arrest me afterwards too,” Bharadwaj told reporters.
The ED’s 20-hour search operation at Bharadwaj’s house ended in the early hours of Tuesday. The raid was part of a money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in hospital construction projects in Delhi.
AAP leaders strongly condemned the raid. Delhi Leader of Opposition Atishi alleged that the action was politically motivated. “The raids were meant to divert attention. The strength of AAP is that it never bows down, and that’s why the BJP is scared of us,” she said.
The ED launched raids at 13 locations across Delhi-NCR, including Bharadwaj’s residence, under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.
AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha accused the agency of harassing Bharadwaj’s family. “For 17 hours they searched his home. What is the ED investigating? This is only political revenge,” Jha said.