Saurabh Bhardwaj
Reacting to the CBI’s examination of Health Minister Satyendar Jain’s wife, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) called it “vendetta politics” and said it was part of the “narrative being propagated” by the BJP based on “imaginary characters and incidents”.
The CBI visited Jain’s residence Monday to seek clarifications from his wife, Poonam Jain, in connection with an ongoing enquiry into allegations of money laundering against him.
Party spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “As per the allegations being made by the two agencies of the BJP government, the CBI and the I-T department, two men — Sanjay and Suresh — have been working for Satyendar Jain since 2010… These men have been linked to hawala operators in Kolkata and the CBI claimed they transact the money on Jain’s behalf. Both these men don’t even exist. Jain has been asking the CBI to produce them before us but it has failed to do so. This is because there are no such persons.”
Bhardwaj also said the CBI’s claims pertaining to a landline number “which the men have been using to keep in touch with hawala operators in Kolkata, has been closed since 2014”.
“This number does not have an STD facility. Only local calls can be made from it. Can they explain how calls are being made to an STD number from a number that is not even working?” he asked.
He also dismissed claims that four people have given testimonies to the I-T department against Jain. “When Jain confronted one such witness, Babloo Pathak, he admitted he had nothing to do with Jain. He has questioned if these testimonies were taken under duress or if they are lies, and to bring the men in front of him. But the I-T department has submitted in writing that it will not do so.”
