The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab vehemently opposed and condemned the arrest of their senior leader and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh by the ED (Directorate of Enforcement). The AAP Punjab unit also staged a protest against the central government in front of the BJP office in Chandigarh where police used water cannons against them.Addressing the media in a press conference before joining the protest, AAP Punjab senior leader and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that there is no Delhi liquor scam.
If there was any scam then the Delhi government would have faced some kind of losses but there were none, which in itself substantiated that there was no scam in liquor policy. He added that this investigation in liquor policy, thousands of raids on leaders, contracts and retailers and arrests of AAP leaders and some businessmen, all is an elaborate conspiracy of the BJP to stop the Aam Aadmi Party. Harpal Cheema was joined by his cabinet colleagues Harbhajan Singh ETO, Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Bram Shanker Jimpa and AAP Punjab working president MLA Budh Ram for this press conference.
Cheema further said that BJP is in despair and unnerved because of their day by day declining graph in Indian politics. BJP has ruled at the centre for more than 9 years now but now they are feeling the heat for their politics of hatred, their love for capitalists and anti-people policies. That is why they are constantly trying to intimidate anyone who speaks against them, oppose their atrocities and dictatorial approach. He said BJP knows that their defeat is certain in upcoming general elections that is why they are attacking opposition leaders through CBI and ED.
The AAP leader said that first they arrested former Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia and now they've arrested another tall leader of AAP, Sanjay Singh. Cheema said that Sanjay Singh has always been very vocal against the BJP government, corruption and their anti-people, anti-farmers steps. He opposed every wrong decision and loot of the BJP government from in and out of parliament. BJP is trying to suppress a pro-people voice of Sanjay Singh. ED raided his four room house for 8 hours but found nothing, still they arrested him without any evidence which is very unfortunate.
It is a repetition of the Manish Sisodia episode. We condemn this arrest and dictatorial act of the BJP government.Cheema said that it is the beauty of democracy to have both government and opposition. But the BJP government, with the misuse of central agencies like CBI and ED, are trying to create a dictatorial environment in our country. He added that history tells us that whenever a government in India has turned to dictatorship, the people of India have always taught lessons to tyrants and this time will be no different. The people of our country will never tolerate autocracy.
Addressing the media, AAP Punjab working president and MLA, Principal Budh Ram, said that ED didn't find even a single penny or a single illegal document from Sanjay Singh's house. This action of the BJP government only shows how unnerved Modi is. But they should know that we are built differently and they cannot intimidate us.
BJP is in despair. The Modi government is friends with big capitalists whereas Sanjay Singh is the voice of common people who opposed favouritism of Ambani and Adani. Budh Ram added that such tactics of BJP won't be able to stop the Aam Aadmi Party. no matter how many raids are conducted or arrests are made, they'll never succeed in stopping us, said the AAP leader.