Misusing govt agencies to intimidate Opposition, CBI summons to Kejriwal unjustified: Atishi slams PM Modi

By Pankaj Jain: Senior AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over alleged “misuse of government investigative agencies to intimidate and threaten the Opposition”. In a press conference on Saturday, the Delhi education minister, who replaced Manish Sisodia after his arrest, dubbed the CBI summons to Arvind Kejriwal as “unjustified” and questioned the move in the absence of evidence.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday issued a summons to the Delhi chief minister in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. He was asked to appear at the agency headquarters at 11 am on Sunday as a witness in the case.

Atishi said the prime minister had been aiming to suppress the voice of Arvind Kejriwal, who was the “only political leader in the country who has been raising his voice against the prime minister and his government’s failures”.

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Atishi criticised the central government for not being able to provide any evidence of corruption against any of the AAP leaders.

“Despite claiming corruption worth thousands of crores, the central government’s investigative agencies have failed to find any evidence to support their claims,” she said.

Atishi said that this summons to Arvind Kejriwal by the CBI was an attempt to intimidate him.

AAP’S ATISHI RAKES UP INFLATION

Referring to inflation, Atishi said that under the tenure of PM Narendra Modi, the rate of inflation has surpassed boundaries for the common man.

“Today, the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG have been hiked beyond limits, and the price of LPG in India is the highest in the world. She questioned how a common man would run his household under these conditions,” she said.

She further alleged that in the past six years, petrol prices in the country have increased by 100%, while health facilities are crumbling across the country.

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There are no hospitals for people or schools for children and colleges for the youth, she said. She also mentioned that 22 crore people are malnourished in the country during a press conference.

“This is what the Modi government has given to the people of this country,” she said.

“PM MODI’S SPECIAL FRIENDS”

She went on to say that central agencies had been working in favour of a few of “PM’s close friends and ensuring that they get richer each day”.

“The net worth of PM Modi’s special friends was Rs 60,000 crores in 2014, which has now increased to Rs 11,00,000 crores. The prime minister is trying to silence Arvind Kejriwal because he raised his voice against this corruption. The PM is trying to silence him because he questioned the investment of Rs 50,000 crores of LIC in his friend’s company, which sank in just 50 days,” she said.

Atishi also said that the AAP will continue to fight against corruption and inflation, even if the “BJP” put the whole of AAP behind bars.

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