“Join BJP or else face ED arrest in one month”: AAP minister Atishi alleges, a day after Kejriwal sent to Tihar

A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to Judicial custody for 15 days, another Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and senior minister in Kejriwal's cabinet, Atishi has made startling allegations of being pressurized by Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) to either join them or face ED action. Known to be close to Kejriwal, one who has been at the forefront of firefighting since the arrest of their chief minister, Atishi on Tuesday alleged that BJP was now planning to arrest more AAP leaders and crush the party ahead of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

“BJP had reached out to a close associate of mine with the proposal that I either join BJP or face ED action. BJP’s proposal is I either join them, expand or save my political career, or else ED will arrest me in the next one month”, said Atishi in a press conference on Tuesday while claiming BJP has gone “desperate” after seeing the INDIA alliance bloc meeting at Ramlila ground in New Delhi on Sunday. According to the Delhi minister, BJP is aiming to put behind bars several other leaders of the party including Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Raghav Chadha ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, baffled, “After the arrest of Kejriwal, the party hasn’t collapsed as yet”.

Atishi’s allegations came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) mentioned Bharadwaj and Atishi's names in court while seeking judicial custody for Kejriwal. The insinuations thereafter, if the names were dropped by Kejriwal during his custody with the central agency.

"Yesterday, the ED took Saurabh Bharadwaj and my name to court on the basis of a statement which is available with the ED and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for one and a half years; this statement is in the charge sheet of the ED. This statement is also in the charge sheets of CBI, so what was the reason for raising this statement? This shows how frustrated BJP is. They are realising that even after the arrest of the party convenor, the party is united and hasn’t collapsed. Thus they are now trying to go after the second-in-line leaders of AAP”, Atishi added.