Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Delhi Assembly Atishi on Friday alleged that the BJP was “fabricating” cases against AAP leaders after failing to find any evidence of corruption in years of relentless raids.

In response, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva questioned why AAP leaders are pleading for bail in courts if they believe the allegations against them are “fake and a political conspiracy”.

In a press conference, Ms. Atishi said, “Is there any department of the Delhi government [during AAP rule] that hasn’t already been investigated? From classrooms to tables and chairs, from hospitals to medicines, from flyovers to roads, every aspect has been scrutinised. The Centre even held back 400 files for six months. Yet, they found no corruption.”

Her comments came days after the Delhi government’s Anti-Corruption Branch registered a “₹145-crore corruption case” in a scholarship programme run by the previous AAP government.

Mr. Sachdeva alleged that for the last five years, AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain have been involved in corruption cases. “After spending a considerable time in jail, they are now out on bail. All cases related to them are under judicial scrutiny. While AAP leaders claim publicly that these are political conspiracies, they do not call the cases fake in court, instead, they plead for bail,” he said.

He alleged that as soon as the investigation into the hospital construction scam carried out during the AAP government picked up pace, AAP leaders has began repeating their “old scripted narrative of political vendetta”.

Visit to Chuna Bhatti slum

Later in the day, Ms. Atishi visited Chuna Bhatti slum cluster and alleged that the BJP is trying to demolish it. “The BJP government continues to target and demolish jhuggis across the city. Now, the so-called four-engine BJP government has issued notices to demolish the Chuna Bhatti JJ Cluster in Karol Bagh’s Sarai Rohilla. I want to assure the residents of Chuna Bhatti that the Aam Aadmi Party stands firmly with them. We will take this fight to court if needed. And if the BJP dares to bring in bulldozers, I will be the first one standing in front of them.”

She said that to protect the slum cluster, party chief Arvind Kejriwal has already appointed a lawyer and every expense will be borne by the party. “AAP stood with the poor before, stands with you now, and will always stand by your side. You have nothing to fear. If the BJP brings bulldozers, we will be the first ones standing in front of them,” she said.