Satyendar Jain & Manish Sisodia cases take gloss off Kejriwal's 'anti-corruption' image?

The 2011 agitation led by Anna Hazare that demanded that a law- Jan Lokpal- be passed for setting up an anti-corruption ombudsman, culminated in the change of two governments in the national capital, one at the Old Secretariat led by Sheila Dikshit, and the other, thanks also in no small part to an enormous 'Modi wave', at the Raisina Hill headed by then PM Dr Manmohan Singh. It also gave rise to a political party- the Aam Aadmi Party and its leader Arvind Kejriwal. 

The party, one of the 'Aam Aadmis', first formed the government in Delhi on December 22, 2013, after a startling electoral success following which it formed a minority government, but Arvind Kejriwal resigned from the Office of the Chief Minister within 49 days saying that his central anti-corruption initiative was being stone-walled by Legislators from the already well-established parties- the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. What he didn't mention at the time was his intention to take on the NDA's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi at Varanasi in an ill-fated electoral outing for the AAP chief.

Regardless, in his resignation address as Delhi CM, Kejriwal on February 14, 2014, claimed that he 'did not come for power or chair'. "They say we cannot govern. But in the past so many years, they couldn't audit the power companies, we did it in five days; in 65 years they couldn't reduce corruption, we did it in 49 days. We filed an FIR against corruption by Sheila-- they say govern, don't do all this. Arrey, acting against the corrupt is true governance," he said. 

Kejriwal's anti-corruption image at stake?

Fast forward 9 years, when Kejriwal's government has completed approximately one term and a half in Delhi, the anti-corruption image seems to be under a massive attack. The first proof of it was the arrest of prominent AAP leader and Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The arrest was on a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) First Information Report (FIR) lodged against the AAP leader in 2017 under the Prevention of Corruption Act. It is alleged that Jain and his associates had utilised hawala funds to purchase property across the nation. A Delhi Special Court on July 29, said that 'prima facie there is enough evidence' of Jain's involvement in the money laundering case. 

While Jain continued to be in judicial custody, another Minister, Manish Sisodia came under the scanner in connection with the Delhi Excise Police 2021-2022. In July, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had recommended a CBI probe in the Excise Policy, the in-charge of which is Sisodia. Subsequently, an FIR was registered by the agency and then, on Friday, raids were conducted at 21 places in the national capital, including the residence of Sisodia. 

Reacting to the same, Sisodia on Twitter wrote, "Unfortunate that in this country, whoever does good work is hassled just like this, that is why our country is still not no. 1." Also, Kejriwal, coming to the defence of his Deputy, wrote, "CBI has come, they are welcomed." 

Kejriwal, once referred to as an anti-corruption crusader, has been subdued in responses on specific allegations in both Jain and Sisodia matters. While in Jain's case, the Delhi CM had initially cited having checked files related to the matter himself only to later climb down, in Sisodia's case, Kejriwal had been indicating for weeks that an agency raid was imminent.

Giving the matter a political spin in multiple directions, the AAP has named all and sundry, from questions against BJP in Karnataka to the upcoming Gujarat elections for which Kejriwal has been campaigning regularly. However, despite press conference upon press conference, a number of charges in both cases remain unanswered, while the questions against Kejriwal only appear to be piling up.