Salient points of Bharatiya Janata Party’s National Spokesperson Shri Shehzad Poonawalla’s Press Conference

Arvind Kejriwal is planning a massive scam under the guise of OTS (One Time Settlement) through the Delhi Jal Board

Arvind Kejriwal should be awarded the Nobel Prize for engaging in corruption, fleeing responsibility, playing the victim, portraying corruption as righteousness, and staging drama and theatrics about atrocities

The “ABCD revolution” involves ‘A’- Avoiding Summons, ‘B’- Evading summons, ‘C’- Covering up summons, and ‘D’-  Diverting attention from summons through dramatic tactics

In 2014, the government in Delhi changed from the Congress-led administration under Sheila Dikshit, but the corrupt face remained unchanged

Delhi government has deceived every department, from medicine to alcohol, from mohalla clinics to liquor shops, from taxes to classrooms, from buses to palaces

Arvind Kejriwal led Delhi government has deceived every department, ranging from medicines to liquor, from mohalla clinics to liquor vends, from taxes to educational institutions, from buses to lavish facilities like the Sheesh Mahal

Under Mamata Banerjee’s rule, the government of West Bengal has become increasingly authoritarian, displaying a mentality reminiscent of the Taliban

Why is the opposition silent on the Sandeshkhali incident and finally why is the INDI Alliance silent on Shahjahan Sheikh’s secular protection?

A press conference was conducted at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi, by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s National Spokesperson Shri Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday. During the press conference, Shri Shehzad Poonawalla accused Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP of corruption and avoiding accountability, alleging involvement in scams across sectors. He criticized Kejriwal for evading summons and seeking a Nobel Prize amidst corruption charges. Shri Poonawalla also condemned Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal government for suppressing dissent and lacking support for women, likening its approach to a dictatorial and Taliban-like regime.

BJP National Spokesperson Shri Shehzad Poonawalla stated that today marks the first anniversary of corruption, symbolizing one year since Delhi’s alleged main figure in corruption was incarcerated, as per his party’s claim. He alleged that this individual focused more on liquor-related matters than on their responsibilities as Education Minister. Instead of offering apologies, these leaders accused of corruption are now audaciously seeking Nobel Prizes for themselves. Shri Shehzad mentioned that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been advocating for the Bharat Ratna award for individuals who were convicted and imprisoned by the court a year ago. Even after a year, they haven’t received any reprieve from the Supreme Court, which has identified a money trail of Rs 338 crore in the liquor scam. Moreover, corrupt associates such as Sanjay Singh, Vijay Nair, and Manish Sisodia have been unable to secure bail for months. Despite these circumstances, Kejriwal is now audaciously asking for a Nobel Prize for himself instead of offering an apology.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla remarked that there’s a song that goes, “Dekh tere sansaar ki halat kya ho gayi bhagwan, kitna badal gaya insaan” (Look at the state of the world, oh God, how much humanity has changed). But today, the lyrics of this song have been transformed. Now it reflects, “Dekho Delhi vaasiyon tumhara CM ki halat kya ho gayi janataroopi bhagwan, kitna badal gaya ye insaan” (Look at the condition of your CM, oh citizens of Delhi, how much this person has changed). Arvind Kejriwal, who, before the inception of the Aam Aadmi Party under Anna Hazare’s guidance, promised that there would be resignations first, followed by investigations. But now, he’s not only avoiding resignation but also evading cooperation in investigations. This is the same person who pledged not to form alliances with the Congress, promising to imprison leaders like Lalu Yadav, the chief of the Samajwadi Party, and even Sonia Gandhi. However, the extent of his transformation is evident today as he is in an alliance with them. Instead of resigning, he has avoided cooperating with the investigation despite being summoned seven times.

BJP National Spokesperson suggested that Arvind Kejriwal deserves the Nobel Prize, with one for engaging in corruption across various sectors, another for evading accountability after indulging in corruption, and a third for prolific lying. From healthcare to education, transport to governance, Kejriwal’s party has allegedly exploited numerous avenues for personal gain. There have been allegations of scams even in areas like mohalla clinics and public transportation, with recent accusations extending to water and liquor.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla accused the AAP party of involvement in a ₹ 70,000  Crore scam, alleging that the Delhi Jal Board, under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, has become a hotbed of corruption and illicit activities. Numerous senior officials faced arrests for their roles in a major scandal, where contracts were awarded to unqualified contractors in exchange for commissions, causing harm to the Delhi government. Kejriwal’s proposed one-time settlement (OTS) through the Delhi Jal Board is believed to conceal this scandal. Termed as a “360-degree scam,” corruption allegations span from liquor to water. Kejriwal claimed that some individuals received inflated bills and expressed his intent to address this issue, despite facing opposition. He also asserted the superiority of his education and health models, which has been contested by critics.

BJP National spokesperson Shri Shehzad Poonawalla stated that between 2012 and 2014, Arvind Kejriwal regularly held press conferences, addressing concerns about air flow water meters, which he accused the INC government of exploiting for corruption. Despite assuming power in 2015, Kejriwal’s administration continued to use these meters, even installing them for new connections, thereby perpetuating the alleged corruption. The responsibility for any inflated bills received after 2015 lies with Kejriwal, as the meters remained in use under his governance. Nearly a decade later, ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Kejriwal is advocating for a one-time settlement to alleviate the burden on consumers.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla highlighted that in 2016, Kejriwal promised to introduce a software to ensure accurate utility bills for everyone, stating that 95% of people were still receiving fake and incorrect bills. Kejriwal should clarify where this software is being utilized today. Kejriwal should be held accountable for failing to fulfill his promise of providing clean water to every household through taps. Additionally, he should explain why his pledge to remove meters was not fulfilled. Moreover, clarification is needed on who is responsible for generating inflated bills—is it the BJP office or the Delhi Jal Board? If the Delhi Jal Board is responsible for generating bills, our suggestion is that any bill found to contain errors should be adjusted to zero by the Delhi Jal Board. According to Kejriwal’s promise, no bill should be paid for water usage up to 21,000 liters. Therefore, anyone receiving an incorrect bill should have their charges reduced to zero, the problem will be solved.

Shri Poonawalla accused Kejriwal of lacking sympathy for consumers and suggested that the issue of inflated water bills may be a new form of corruption. He mentioned that at the end of 2023, the hard-working State President Shri Virendra Sachdeva and other leaders exposed documents related to a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) tender scam worth thousands of crores. They worked diligently to bring this scam to the attention of the authorities. Shri Poonawalla asserted that not only one, but multiple scams worth thousands of crores have occurred through the Delhi Jal Board in awarding contracts. He claimed that there is a concerted effort to execute these scams and ensure that illegal money reaches all the contractors involved.

BJP National Spokesperson stated that what Arvind Kejriwal claims, that he has corrected everything and brought the Delhi government into revenue surplus. If he has indeed brought the Delhi government into surplus revenue, then why didn’t the Delhi Jal Board achieve revenue surplus in the 10 years. Today, the debt on the Delhi Jal Board, which was less than 20,000 crores until 2023, has escalated to 80,000 crores.  It wasn’t fixed because, time and again, through the Delhi Jal Board, tenders for sewage treatment plants or other contracts were manipulated. If the actual cost of a contract is 100 crore, it’s inflated to 500 crore, 600 crore, or 700 crore to favor preferred contractors, who then inflate their costs. This is Arvind Kejriwal’s sophisticated, one-time super scam scheme to swindle Delhi Jal Board’s funds through overpriced contracts. It was never an initiative concerning the citizen’s welfare. Just before the elections, changes were made to the liquor policy to favor liquor scamsters. The Aam Aadmi Party dealt with them to collect commissions, with people like Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia’s involvement. Funds were diverted towards elections in Punjab and Gujarat. The same is happening again now. As elections approach, there’s pressure from contractors, leading to attempts to transfer the Delhi government’s funds into their pockets. Shri Poonawalla suggested that all the bills generated should be zeroed out. The intention is not clean water but only the cleanliness of the treasury.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla raised inquiries regarding Arvind Kejriwal’s actions and posed questions  while asking about the whereabouts of the 2016 software and questioned why the use of airflow water meters wasn’t halted. He questioned why the figure was set at 10 lakhs if 95% of consumers are facing issues. Additionally, he questioned why Arvind Kejriwal wants bills waived from 2012 if inflated bills have been received since the COVID period. Why does Arvind Kejriwal not audit the accounts of the Delhi Jal Board if his intentions are clear.

Shri Poonawalla highlighted that despite Arvind Kejriwal’s talk of auditing, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had to approach the Delhi High Court because Arvind Kejriwal’s government was not providing the necessary details for DJB’s accounts, thus preventing the CAG audit for years. Shri Poonawalla emphasized that if the CAG audit were conducted, the truth about corruption would be revealed. He pointed out that despite Arvind Kejriwal’s claims of revolutionizing education through figures like Manish Sisodia, the Delhi High Court has raised concerns about the state of government schools. Shri Poonawalla criticized Arvind Kejriwal and his party for their involvement in various scams, describing their approach as an “ABCD revolution” where ‘A’ stands for Avoiding summons, ‘B’ for Evading summons (Bhag jao from summons), ‘C’ for Covering up summons, and ‘D’ for Diverting attention from summons through dramatic tactics.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla questioned why, instead of responding to the seven summons, excuses were made each time. Initially, it was the pretext of attending a Vipassana session, then being involved in an election campaign where deposits from 204 out of 204 seats were forfeited. Despite these excuses, if Arvind Kejriwal claims that this is BJP’s interference, why hasn’t the court dismissed the summons? Shri Poonawalla suggested that the court should have demanded a response from the agency and issued summons through the High Court. However, the court did not dismiss the summons; instead, the ED went to court stating that when a summons is sent to a public servant, compliance with the investigation is expected. However, instead of complying, Kejriwal’s team is confronting the agency. When the agency approached the court, no one questioned the validity of the summons.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla remarked that today, Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj gave the example of Lalu Prasad Yadav in their press conference. It is extremely ironic that a party that laid its foundation from the Anna Hazare movement is now citing Lalu Prasad Yadav as an example. Saurabh and Atishi are now accusing the ED of rushing to send summons, but the truth is that the court has ordered cooperation with the investigation instead of halting any proceedings. The court has also stated that Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh will not be granted bail. The Aam Aadmi Party follows the court orders as per its convenience. Atishi’s second argument was that action is being taken against AAP leaders in the PMLA, but the reality is that the CBI court has issued orders against them, and the CBI court takes action under the Prevention of Corruption  Act, not under the PMLA. The CBI’s orders have nothing to do with the PMLA.

Shri Poonawalla criticized the Aam Aadmi Party’s purported policy of zero tolerance against corruption while being in alliance with convicted politicians such as Lalu Prasad Yadav and DMK’s Pon Mudi. He questioned Kejriwal’s self-proclaimed integrity despite these alliances. Shri Poonawalla also referenced a statement by Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate, suggesting that the Aam Aadmi Party cannot avoid responsibility for the liquor scam. He questioned whether Congress was also taking retaliatory measures against the AAP. These individuals who once accused others of being united have themselves come together now. The Aam Aadmi Party remains silent in the face of questions regarding the liquor scam, awarding contracts to blacklisted companies, raising commissions from 2.5 per cent to 12.5 per cent, reverting to old policies, and involvement in scams worth thousands of crores of rupees. They moved from medicine scams to liquor scams, and now it seems they are heading towards water scams.

Shri Shahzad Poonawalla remarked that the West Bengal government has adopted a dictatorial and Taliban-like mentality. Shri Poonawala highlighted instances where journalists were arrested for questioning atrocities against women in West Bengal. Additionally, he mentioned senior lawyers, members of investigation committees, and opposition leaders like Smt. Locket Chatterjee and Shri Sukant Majumdar, and ordinary workers were unlawfully detained and beaten up under the guise of imposing section 144. Shri Poonawala alleged that efforts were made to intimidate and threaten victimized women, while criminals like Shahjahan were allegedly encouraged and protected by the state government.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla pointed out that the High Court has once again condemned the unlawful activities of the Trinamool Congress. Furthermore, Shri Poonawala referenced earlier instances in 2021 when women were subjected to sexual assault by Trinamool Congress supporters following the elections, noting that the High Court had taken note of these cases and provided evidence of how the West Bengal Police failed to stand by the women and instead sided with the criminals. Shri Poonawala criticized West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleging that she never displayed empathy towards women nor offered them adequate support.

Shri Shehzad Poonawalla highlighted that the secular protection is not just for Mamata Banerjee or parties with a Taliban mindset and culture. This secular protection is being provided by the entire INDI alliance. Whenever there is an unpleasant and unfortunate incident concerning journalists’ rights, constitutional rights, or atrocities against women, from Hathras to every other BJP-ruled states, whenever such incidents occur, those who used to rush to the scene like vulture tourism, such as Priyanka Vadra, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, and their newly appointed Rajya Sabha members, not even a tweet has come from their side, and they are continuously speaking to the High Court. Shri Poonawalla questioned as to what compulsion is this that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and all the leaders of the INDI alliance are unable to speak over the concerned matter.

(This story has not been edited by News Mania staff and is published from a Media Release)