Graft Case: Delhi LG Approves Probe Into Bribery Charges Against AAP Leader Satyendra Jain

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party alleged that the case against Jain was party of the Bharatiya Janata Party's "relentless conspiracies" against it and the Delhi government.

The BJP, meanwhile, said that the sanction for the investigation was "no surprise", adding that it was expected from a long time.

"The BJP is relentlessly engaging in sinister conspiracies against the Delhi government day and night to halt its works," the AAP said in a statement.

It claimed that with "over 200 cases filed against AAP ministers and MLAs, and sending our top leadership, including Delhi Chief Minister (Arvind) Kejriwal to jail in just 10 years, this case is yet another step towards suppressing the AAP".

However, BJP described Jain to be the "master of corruption in the Delhi cabinet".

The Enforcement Directorate in May 2022 arrested Jain in connection with a money laundering case and the AAP leader is currently in judicial custody.

In the graft case, it has been alleged that Jain received a bribe of Rs 7 crore for waiving a penalty of Rs 16 crore which was imposed on a company for delay in the installation of CCTVs in 70 Assembly constituencies of Delhi, said Raj Niwas officials.

Saxena agreed with the Directorate of Vigilance's proposal to refer the matter under Section 17A of the Prevention of Corruption Act to the Union Home Ministry for approval of the investigation against Jain by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), they added.

Officials said that Jain was the Public Works Department minister and nodal authority of the project meant for installing 1.4 lakh CCTV cameras in the national capital at the cost of Rs 571 crore.

The case against the AAP leader is on the basis of a complaint from September 2019, which was filed by an employee of a company responsible for the CCTV cameras' installation. He had alleged that the company arranged the bribe money through its vendors, officials added.

To corroborate the complainant, the ACB also obtained information from secret sources, they said, adding that the agency had recorded the complainant's statement.

The AAP, in its statement, claimed that despite a large number of corruption cases being lodged against its leaders, the probe agencies failed to recover even a single penny.

"Ever since the AAP came to power (in Delhi), the BJP and its Central government have tried everything possible to undermine and paralyse it," the Arvind Kejriwal-led party said.

"This includes enacting the GNCTD Act against the Supreme Court's verdict and disrupting public interest initiatives through bureaucracy by withholding payments for Mohalla Clinics and medicines for government hospitals," it charged.

The AAP said that this is the 201st case against its leaders, adding that "like the previous 200 cases, the BJP and its Central government are trying to paralyse the Delhi government because the AAP is a staunchly honest party".

The BJP's Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva said the approval for investigation into the "kickbacks received by Jain from the CCTV installation project was expected long back".

Thanking Governor Saxena for the sanction, Sachdeva said, "Till the day of his arrest in 2022, Satyendra Jain was master of corruption in the Delhi Cabinet. Therefore the sanction of investigation against him comes as no surprise."

"It's shocking to note that the Arvind Kejriwal government has indulged in corruption even in projects related to women and children's security, be it in CCTV installation on roads in Delhi or installation of panic buttons in public transport vehicles," Sachdeva said.

(With PTI inputs)