There are apprehensions that Kejriwal will be arrested by ED on Nov 2: Atishi
New Delhi (PTI): The AAP on Tuesday claimed there are apprehensions that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) will arrest Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on November 2 after questioning him in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.
The ruling party in Delhi also alleged that the BJP was trying to finish it off by putting its top leaders behind bars.
Kejriwal has been issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and according to sources, the ED will record his statement once he deposes at the probe agency's Delhi office at 11 am on November 2.
This is the first time that Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case in April.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Delhi Cabinet Minister Atishi claimed the BJP was using these tactics to target the AAP as it knows that it cannot defeat Kejriwal in elections.
"According to various sources, the ED will also arrest Arvind Kejriwal and put him in jail on November 2. Today, the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi want to eliminate the Aam Aadmi Party. This is why, one after another, AAP leaders are being arrested in false cases and sent to jail," she said.
Atishi said Kejriwal will be arrested not because there is any case or evidence against him but because he has spoken out against the BJP.
"He will be arrested only because Prime Minister Modi is afraid of him. They know that if there is one leader in this country who openly speaks against the BJP and fights against the party, it is Arvind Kejriwal. Since Narendra Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, he has been most troubled by one person and that is Arvind Kejriwal," she said.
In 2015, the BJP had been winning one state election after another but Kejriwal managed to confine the BJP to just three seats in Delhi, while the AAP won 67 of the 70 seats, she said.
In 2020 again, Atishi said, the BJP put all its efforts into the Delhi elections, fielding its leaders and creating a charged atmosphere across the country.
"However, the people of Delhi showed their love for their son Arvind Kejriwal and made him the chief minister of Delhi once more.
"When the MCD elections came, the BJP knew that the people of Delhi would elect Arvind Kejriwal and throw the BJP out of the MCD. They delayed the MCD elections, imposed restrictions and conducted elections along with the Gujarat elections. However, despite all this, the people of Delhi still elected Arvind Kejriwal in the MCD elections," she said.
Referring to the arrest of the AAP's top leaders, including Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendar Jain, Atishi claimed it only means that the BJP wants to "finish off the AAP".
Jain has been granted interim bail in a money laundering case.
"After Kejriwal is arrested, the BJP will target other leaders of the INDIA alliance and its chief ministers using the CBI and the ED.
"Next they will target Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren since they have been unable to defeat him. Then they will target Tejashwi Yadav since they have not been able to break the alliance in Bihar. Then Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin will be targeted," Atishi claimed.
"I want to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are not afraid of going to jail nor are they afraid of false cases. They will fight till the last breath to protect the Constitution of this country," she said.
AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed Atishi's views and asserted the party has only grown stronger in the face of opposition.
"The BJP fears Kejriwal's popularity and honesty. Every time an attempt is made to end the AAP, it emerges stronger with double force.
"In the history of independent India, the AAP has been the most preyed upon party by the Centre. Approximately, 170 fabricated cases have been registered against the AAP and its leaders. Forty-eight of these fabricated cases are registered against Sanjay Singh alone by the Uttar Pradesh government and the BJP's other governments. Dozens of cases have also been registered against Kejriwal," he claimed.
Addressing a press conference, the AAP's Delhi state convener Gopal Rai said the AAP will keep working for the common man.
"Liquor policy is just an excuse. The BJP's goal is to eliminate the AAP. If it were only about the liquor policy, there wouldn't have been CBI raids at CM's office before and the Shunglu Committee wouldn't have scrutinised every single file. In the liquor policy case, even the CBI had called Arvind Kejriwal and he answered all their questions," he added.
Rai also said the BJP's ouster is certain in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
"I want to tell the people of Delhi that we will confront their tyranny head-on and continue development work in Delhi," he said.
AAP MLA Dilip Pandey said they are disciples of Bhagat Singh and are ready to sacrifice their lives but will not bow before the BJP.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
