Raaj Kumar Anand, an AAP MLA, charged that the party’s organisation does not treat Dalits and members of underprivileged communities with the respect they deserve.
Raaj Kumar Anand, the Cabinet minister for Delhi and Patel Nagar MLA for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), resigned from the party’s primary membership on Wednesday, citing it as being “enmeshed in the quicksand of graft.”
After submitting his resignation to party general secretary Sandeep Pathak, he gave a press conference at his home and stated, “I had entered politics when Kejriwal had said that if its politics changes, the country will change.” However, I regretfully declare now that political leaders changed, not politics. Although the AAP was founded as a movement against corruption, it is now enmeshed in the same graft-ridden morass.
The social welfare minister further charged that under the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s structure, Dalits and members of underprivileged communities were not treated with the respect they deserved. “They (AAP) display Babasaheb (Ambedkar)’s picture at every government office and news conference, but they don’t follow his principles. The legislation requires reservations, but in terms of real representation, not one of our 13 MPs is a Dalit or from a community that is considered backward, according to Anand.
I am unable to continue serving in this government in any capacity. I resign from my position as minister, from this party, and from this administration because I do not want my name associated with such unscrupulous behavior. He went on, “I don’t think we have the moral right to remain in government any more.
The AAP MLA resigned at the same time that Chief Minister Kejriwal was placed under judicial detention for the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy.
In the meantime, Anand is being looked into by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) and the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a potential money laundering case involving unreported hawala payments made to China in 2023.
The ED said in November of last year that evidence of unreported business investments and hawala payments routed to China in 2023 had been found from some of Anand’s most important workers, following searches at 13 locations, including his premises. The agency stated that this was in addition to the Rs 74 lakh in cash and the many digital records and incriminating documents that were also found.
“The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence filed a prosecution complaint against Anand and other connected persons/entities for commission of offences under various sections of the Customs Act,” an ED spokeswoman stated. “On the basis of this, the ED initiated the investigation.” The accusation states that Anand avoided paying customs duties totaling approximately Rs 7 crore on a number of shipments and made hawala payments to China. By order dated August 11, the Honourable Court has declared the offence to be recognized.
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