4 more AAP leaders will be arrested before Lok Sabha polls, claims Atishi

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Delhi minister Atishi on Tuesday alleged that government is plotting to put the next line of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in jail after the arrest of chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and other top leaders in the liquor policy case.

In a hard-hitting media briefing, Atishi said that investigative agencies will arrest leaders like Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak, Raghav Chadha and herself before the Lok sabha elections.

The allegations come a day after the Enforcement Directorate took Bharadwaj and Atishi's names in the court while seeking judicial custody for Kejriwal.

"Yesterday, the ED took Saurabh Bharadwaj and my name in the court, on the basis of a statement which is available with ED and CBI for one and a half years, this statement is in the chargesheet of ED. This statement is also in the chargesheets of CBI, so what was the reason for raising this statement? The reason for raising this statement was that now the BJP feels that despite Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendra Jain being in jail, the Aam Aadmi Party is still united and strong. Now they are planning to put the next line of leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party in jail," she said.

The Delhi minister, who is seen as the No.2 in the government, further claimed that BJP approached her to join the party through one of her close aides.

"BJP through one of my close aides approached me to join their party to save my political career and If I do not join the BJP then in the coming one month I will be arrested by ED," she alleged.

Asked whether Kejriwal will resign from his post after his arrest, Atishi reiterated that there is no reason for the Delhi CM to quit.

"There are two constitutional and legal provisions related to this in our country. Representation of the People Act says that if you have a conviction for more than two years, then you cannot remain a public representative. Arvind Kejriwal has not been convicted...Arvind Kejriwal enjoys the overwhelming majority of the Delhi Assembly, so there is no reason for Arvind Kejriwal to resign. If Arvind Kejriwal resigns today then it will be a very simple and straightforward solution for the Bharatiya Janata Party to topple the opposition governments," she said.

On Monday, a Delhi court sent Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in the liquor policy case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had asked for 15 days of judicial custody, citing Kejriwal's "non-cooperative behaviour".

ED also claimed that Kejriwal had informed them that Vijay Nair, the former communication-in-charge of the AAP and an accused in the liquor scam case, reported to Atishi and not him.