The Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday sought to link the raids conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the premises of Delhi Health and PWD Minister Satyendar Jain to the announcement made by him just two days back to put curbs on the profiteering by private hospitals in the national capital.
Also attempting to adopt an air of non-chalance with regard to the action by the CBI, the party accused the Narendra Modi government of misusing investigating agencies to go after its MLAs and ministers in the capital, and noted that it has become such a routine affair that it is now used to it. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, however, did post an angry tweet against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking, “What does PM Modi want?”
“Satyendar Jain announced day before yesterday how Delhi government was planning to stop the blatant profiteering by private hospitals, and this has left the private hospital lobby restless. All these mafias—be the private school lobby or the hospital lobby—they have a very good understanding with the central government,” said Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.
He also said, “We have by now got used to these CBI raids since they have been happening with such great regularity,” adding that the CBI may not find anything beyond maybe two missing shirts of Jain's under a sofa.
The raids are in connection with a case filed by the CBI with regard to alleged irregularities in hiring of design consultants by Public Works Department for schools and Mohalla clinics, which comes under Jain's charge.
Incidentally, the raid has taken place barely two days after the CBI filed a closure report on its investigation in the case of the appointment of Jain's daugther Soumya as an adviser for the Mohalla clinic project after not finding any evidence to corroborate charges that she availed benefits from the assignment.
Jain tweeted that the CBI raided his house for hiring of a creative team by PWD. “Professionals were hired for different projects. All were forced to leave by CBI,” he tweeted.
AAP leader Ashish Khetan spoke about the numerous cases filed by either the CBI or the Anti-Corruption Bureau or Delhi Police against the party's MLAs or its ministers in Delhi government in the last three years. “None of these agencies of the Modi government have found any evidence against our MLAs or ministers,” he said.
According to AAP leader Aatishi Marlena, the party was expecting that something like this was bound to happen since Jain made the announcement about private hospitals in Delhi. She alleged that this had to do with the interests of BJP leaders in private hospitals in the capital.
“We want the BJP to tell how many of their leaders have private hospitals in Delhi. Why are they so perturbed when government hospitals in Delhi are running so well?” she said.
Jain appears to be one of the chosen ones in the Delhi government to come under the scanner of investigating agencies. The CBI had earlier also filed a case against him and his wife for alleged money laundering.