Prosecute Kejriwal for sedition: Congress leader on Feedback Unit case
What's the story
Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit has urged Delhi's Lietenant-Governor (L-G) VK Saxena to allow Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief, Arvind Kejriwal, to be prosecuted under the Sedition Act. This is in connection with the Feedback Unit (FBU) set up by the AAP government in 2015, which allegedly spied on its political rivals, according to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Context
Why does this story matter?
In 2015, AAP unseated Congress in Delhi, winning its first full term. In a year, the FBU was formed with Manish Sisodia heading the vigilance department. Last week, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Centre approved the prosecution of AAP's second-in-command, Sisodia, in the FBU spying case under the Prevention of Corruption Act. AAP has maintained that the allegations are bogus and politically motivated.
Statement
AAP's FBU spying in Delhi amounts to sedition: Dikshit
Dikshit said that Kejriwal created the FBU for espionage and bought machines beyond its jurisdiction. He said that despite internal security being beyond the Delhi government's purview, the FBU was set up with machines that had the capacity and intent to intercept and collect data. Since defense establishments and Union intelligence agencies fall in Delhi, the FBU listening and recording information amounted to sedition.
Twitter Post
Dikshit met Saxena and handed him the letter seeking action
दिल्ली LG साहेब को आग्रह किया की @ArvindKejriwal और @msisodia पर FBU से जासूसी कराने के मामले में देशद्रोह का मुक़दमा चलना चाहिए pic.twitter.com/FbtemG6bXJ
— Sandeep Dikshit (@_SandeepDikshit) March 1, 2023
Details
FBU set up without then L-G's approval
The CBI claimed that the FBU was set up without permission from then L-G Najeeb Jung. The FBU started working in February 2016 with a provisional budget of Rs. 1 crore and it probed more than 700 cases in eight months. As per the CBI, 40% of these cases were related to snooping on political rivals in AAP's private interest.
AAP
BJP using Central probe agencies to target us: AAP
The AAP called the case a political vendetta carried out by the ruling BJP using central probe agencies. Until now, the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED), and Delhi Police—which comes under the Centre—have registered 163 cases against the AAP. The party said that 134 of these cases have been dismissed, while no evidence has been provided in the rest of the cases.
Double whammy
AAP sandwiched between Delhi Liquor Policy and FBU cases
Aside from the FBU case, the AAP-Delhi government has been accused of corruption in the formulation of the now-scrapped Delhi Liquor Policy 2021-22. The CBI arrested Sisodia on Sunday and received his custody for five days. Later, the Supreme Court turned his bail plea away, directing him to approach the Delhi High Court. On Tuesday, Sisodia resigned as Delhi's Deputy CM.
Information
L-G Saxena ordered the probe on Delhi Liquor Policy
Notably, the Delhi Liquor Policy case is being investigated by L-G Saxena, based on the report of the then Delhi Chief Secretary. The AAP claims that then L-G Anil Baijal approved the Delhi Liquor Policy but the probe agencies are not questioning him.
Chief Secretary
What did then-Delhi Chief Secretary's report say
In his report, then-Delhi chief secretary Naresh Kumar claimed that the liquor policy was implemented in violation of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules 1993, Delhi Excise Act 2009, and Delhi Excise Rules 2010. Per Kumar's findings, the violations were indicative of a financial payoff at the highest political level, where Sisodia made and carried out decisions in violation of statutory provisions.