CBI raid at Pathak’s house politically motivated: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after a CBI raid was conducted at the residence of AAP leader Durgesh Pathak.

The party alleged that the raid was politically motivated and a sign of the BJP’s nervousness over AAP’s expanding influence in Gujarat.

Addressing a press conference in Delhi, senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh alleged that the Prime Minister was “rattled” by Pathak’s recent appointment as AAP’s Gujarat co-incharge. He accused the BJP of misusing Central agencies to intimidate the opposition.

“PM Modi is so unsettled by Durgesh Pathak’s appointment that he has unleashed the CBI to harass him. This is nothing, but political vendetta,” said Singh. He claimed that the BJP was facing growing public anger in Gujarat and was now resorting to such tactics out of fear of losing ground in what had long been considered its bastion.

Singh further accused the BJP of previously jailing AAP leaders, including former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on false charges and conducting raids in Delhi and Punjab. “Despite every attempt to crush us, AAP has fought and will continue to fight. We will not bow down,” he said.

Highlighting AAP’s performance in the last Gujarat Assembly elections, where it secured nearly 14% of the vote and won five seats, Singh said Durgesh Pathak had been actively working to strengthen the party’s grassroots base in the state. “As soon as he began engaging with workers and villagers, the BJP responded with the CBI,” he said.

Calling the raid a “shameful attempt to destroy a political party in a democracy,” Singh said the people of Gujarat were disillusioned with the BJP government and were looking for an alternative. “They see hope in AAP. That’s what scares the BJP,” he added.

Singh concluded by reiterating the party’s support for Pathak and said AAP would continue to stand up to what it calls “BJP’s authoritarian tactics.” “We are unbreakable and we will not be silenced,” he asserted.

Delhi