TRS leader Kavitha slams ED for naming her in Delhi excise scam; calls it 'cheap politics'
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K Kavitha, MLC and the daughter of the Telangana Chief Minister, claimed that the inclusion of her name in the Delhi excise policy scam by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was the product of "cheap politics." On November 30, Kavita told the media that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was harassing her by using government organisations like the ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The former minister claimed that she was unfazed by the ED's action and that she will help with the probe without worrying about going to jail.
"A year before the elections in whichever state, you will see the ED arriving in that state ahead of Modi's visit. This is nothing new. The people of this country have been observing this. Since we have elections in December next year, ED has come to Telangana before Modi. The ED and CBI cases against me or our ministers or our MLAs are nothing but the BJP's cheap political strategy," Kavitha said.
The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader continued to criticise the BJP and pleaded with party officials not to release details of the investigation that would damage her reputation. "If agencies question us, we will definitely answer them. But to selectively leak information to the media to tarnish my name will backfire. My appeal to Prime Minister Modi is to change his stubborn attitude. In a democracy, we should win elections by our promises to the people, and not using ED," she said. Kavitha had already made a request for an injunction against BJP politicians named in the scheme in a civil court proceeding, the News Minute reported.
A number of TRS supporters had gathered at Kavitha's home on Thursday to show their support for her.
Businessman Amit Arora is accused of participating in the liquor policy fraud, and Kavitha is listed as a co-conspirator in the ED's petition to a Delhi district court asking for Arora's remand. The ED claimed that due to a criminal conspiracy including Aam Aadmi Party officials, the Delhi government's policies encouraged cartel formations behind closed doors, gave outrageous wholesale (12%) and large retail (185%) profit margins, and encouraged other unlawful actions.
Businessman Vijay Nair, who has previously been detained in connection with the investigation, allegedly got kickbacks worth Rs 100 crore from the "South Group," which is purportedly managed by Kavitha and others.
"The 12% margin to the wholesalers was devised to extract half of it as a kickback to the AAP leaders. As per the investigation carried out so far, Vijay Nair, on behalf of leaders of AAP has at least received kickbacks to the tune of Rs 100 crore from a group called South Group (controlled by Sarath Reddy, K Kavitha, Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy) by various persons including Amit Arora. The same has been disclosed by the arrestee Amit Arora in his statements," reads the report.
The CBI and the ED are looking into several TRS leaders in relation to the scam. Both Rajya Sabha MP Vaddiraju Ravichandra and Civil Supplies Minister Gangula Kamalakar Reddy were summoned on Wednesday by the CBI, requesting them to appear in front of the agents on Thursday at the CBI headquarters in Delhi.
