ED raids AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj's home, other sites in health infra scam

"No party has been targeted the way the AAP is being targeted today" - Arvind Kejriwal

- Naresh Biswani

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on Tuesday at 13 locations linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, including his residence, in connection with a suspected health infrastructure scam. The AAP termed the raids politically motivated and an attempt to divert attention from ongoing debates about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's academic credentials. "No party has been targeted the way the AAP is being targeted today," said AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, asserting that the party would not be intimidated by what he described as "misuse" of central investigative agencies.

The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in hospital and health infrastructure schemes during the AAP government's tenure in Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate's probe follows a complaint filed in June by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) accusing former health ministers Saurabh Bharadwaj and Satyendar Jain of involvement in financial irregularities totalling Rs 5,590 crore. The ED subsequently registered a money laundering case in July.

According to the ED, in 2018-19, the Delhi government sanctioned 24 hospital projects, promising ICU facilities would be completed within six months.