Kejriwal says Modi behind his name in DCW FIR

Will Call Assembly Session To Discuss, Oppn Slams Move

In what promises to be yet another round of bitter exchanges between the Delhi government and the Centre, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) include his name in an FIR that was filed against Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal on Tuesday .

The FIR has been filed on the complaint of former chairperson Barkha Singh who has alleged corruption in the hiring of staff at DCW.

The CM has called for an assembly session to discuss the matter, drawing sharp criticism from the Opposition for “wasting everyone's time“.BJP MLA Vijender Gupta said the session could have been called to discuss the dengue and chikungunya outbreak but the CM was more interested in his own issues.

“I read the entire FIR to see why my name is there. In the whole FIR, there is not a single line about what my role is in this matter. I am sure DCW also has not done anything wrong, but I am clueless about what my role can be in the matter.Now, a CM's name doesn't just come like that in an FIR. The approval comes from really high above. This must, therefore, be a direction from the PM.If there is an FIR against a CM, there should be a discussion on it. We will discuss this and call a special session of the vidhan sabha to discuss the truth of this FIR,“ Kejriwal said.

Later in the day, he tweeted, “FIR was drafted in PMO. Even Meena (ACB chief MK Meena) had no knowledge. There's a conspiracy to destabilise Delhi government. Will expose it in special assembly session.“

Party sources said that while AAP had been alleging that the Centre had been following politics of vendetta, evident by the arrests of its MLAs on allegedly “flimsy grounds“, this FIR proved their argument beyond doubt. “This is not an ordinary incident. A CM has been named in an FIR for a case in which he has absolutely no role. This proves that the Centre is trying its best to harass us and create hurdles for the Delhi government,“ said a member.

(TOI)