The current and former Delhi chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal and Sheila Dixit were named in an FIR on Monday by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) in connection with the Rs 400 crore water tanker scam of Delhi Jal Board. The ACB has said that it would question "both" the leaders.
While Dixit was booked for involvement in the irregularities in obtaining 385 water tankers in 2012, Kejriwal was booked for suppressing the matter for a year.
Kejriwal in a press conference on Tuesday said: "Narendra Modi wants to scare me, break me," but he is going to continue fighting against injustice. Kejriwal added that Modi may have scared others with fake FIRs, fake raids, but he will continue to be a rock solid opposition against Modi's misdeeds.
The FIR against Kejriwal was registered after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vijendra Gupta filed a complaint against him "for causing delay and not cancelling the contract for water tankers," ACB chief MK Meena told IANS.
The FIR against Dixit was registered after a fact finding committee on the 385 water tankers that were procured by the Delhi Jal Board found her involvement. The committee-led by state water minister Kapil Mishra recommended that an FIR be filed against Dixit.
The irregularities were found in 2015 and the report was forwarded to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 12 along with a letter written by Mishra recommending action against Dixit, the Business Standard reported.
Jung forwarded the report to the ACB on June 16, along with Gupta's complaint against Kejriwal, following which the ACB filed an FIR.
Dixit said that the allegations were "politically motivated" and the timing was suspect as there was speculation that she was being considered as the Uttar Pradesh chief ministerial candidate or for a major position in Punjab by the Congress. She also said that Jung might be under political pressure to forward the report.
Kejriwal, on the other hand, goaded Modi by tweeting that the FIR against him proves that the prime minister has finally accepted that he was in direct confrontation with him.
