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AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that Gahlot had ‘no option’ but to leave the party as he came under pressure after ED and IT raids against him.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh accuses BJP of hatching conspiracy after Kailash Gahlot’s resignation | Image/File (PTI)
Moments after Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot resigned from the cabinet and AAP’s primary membership on Sunday, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party charged the BJP for “conspiring against their leaders” by putting them under pressure using central probe agencies.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that Gahlot had “no option” but to leave the party as he came under pressure after Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax raids, which were held against him many times in the last five years.
“Kailash Gahlot has been raided by the ED, Income Tax many times. He was part of the government for five years, and the BJP was continuously conspiring against him, he was left with no other option but to go with the BJP,” AAP MP Sanjay Singh said.
VIDEO | “Kailash Gahlot has been raided by the ED, Income Tax many times. He was part of the government for five years, and the BJP was continuously conspiring against him, he was left with no other option but to go with the BJP. The BJP tries this, they get successful sometimes,… pic.twitter.com/QQ4L4Aipj8— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 17, 2024
He further noted that Kailash Gahlot, who held the Administrative Reforms, Transport, Home, Women and Child Development, and Information Technology portfolios in the Delhi Cabinet, is now speaking in the tone of BJP.
“The BJP tries this, they get successful sometimes, and sometimes not. He is now repeating what the BJP says, it is the conspiracy of the BJP,” Singh was quoted by news agency PTI.
In 2018, Gahlot came under the scrutiny of the Income Tax (IT) Department, which had carried out searches at several premises linked to him in connection with an alleged tax evasion case.
Why Gahlot Took Exit?
Gahlot, in a move that shook the national capital’s political arena, submitted his resignation to AAP’s Kejriwal, stating that he had ‘no option’ but to step down due to the “embarrassing and awkward controversies” linked to the party.
Last year, then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was accused of “spending Rs 45 crore” on the renovation of his official residence, which the BJP named as ‘Sheesh Mahal” in an apparent jibe.
The Najafgarh MLA, Gahlot, referred to the “Sheesh Mahal” controversy, and said that it has made everyone doubt whether they still believe in being Aam Aadmi (Common Man).
“Another painful point has been the fact that instead of fighting for people’s rights we have increasingly only been fighting for our own political agenda. This has severely crippled our ability to even deliver basic services to the people of Delhi,” he added.
Gahlot’s exit comes weeks after party Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal turned rebel, although she remains an MP from the party. The assembly polls are due in Delhi in the next few weeks as the term of the current assembly will end in February 2025.
