Kejri seeks Modi resignation for 'flop' CBI raid on his office

An aggressive Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for ordering a “flop” CBI raid on the Delhi government secretariat. He also sought the sacking of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley over corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) during the latter’s tenure in office.

“My office was raided without any reason...why did they come to my office when the raid was against (IAS officer) Rajendra Kumar,” said Kejriwal, calling December 15 – the day of CBI searches – as a black day as the Delhi Assembly resolved to set up a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to probe DDCA irregularities.

The Chief Minister came down hard on Modi during his concluding remarks on a discussion on the CBI raid and said: “The CBI reports to the PM and I demand his resignation for such a flop raid on my office which did not yield anything wrong.”

“I dropped my corrupt minister...let Modi sack Jaitley and prove his innocence before the Commission of Inquiry,” Kejriwal said, adding that his government’s aim is to improve cricket. The fate of the CoI to be headed by former solicitor general Gopal Subramanium remains uncertain as it would require the approval of Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and the central government. “I have a suspicion that the Centre will ask LG to declare the CoI null and void as it did in the case of a CoI into the CNG scam,” Kejriwal said, accusing Modi of ordering the CBI raid to save Jaitley.

The Opposition BJP called the proceedings unconstitutional before walking out of the House minutes before the legislators approved the resolution for a CoI.

Kejriwal also defended his Principal Secretary and IAS officer Rajendra Kumar against allegations of graft committed during the previous Sheila Dikshit government. "He's being mentally harassed. The CBI has got nothing against him in the last eight days. If I can remove my minister and babu for committing corruption, it is also my duty to protect honest officers," he said. “I am not defending Rajendra because he is related to me...if he does something wrong I will myself order action against him,” the Chief Minister said.