BackKejriwal govt battles CBI's political snooping charge, AAP says 'it's not us'
Row erupted between AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a CBI report claiming political intelligence gathering by the Feedback Unit formed by AAP
PremiumDelhi's snoopgate case has been referred to President's office after a CBI report accused the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of using the vigilance department to carry out political snooping.
Yesterday a row erupted between AAP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over a CBI report claiming political intelligence gathering by the Feedback Unit (FBU) formed by the AAP after coming to power in Delhi in 2015.
However, the AAP government in Delhi said the BJP's statement is "politically motivated", and added that the CBI and ED should rather investigate "the dubious relationship between Modi and Adani where the real corruption happened".
According to Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government formed FBU to keep an eye on political opponents, Union Ministers, MPs, LG Office, media houses, leading businessmen, and also the judges.
The CBI in its report submitted to the Vigilance department sought approval of the LG which is the competent authority in the matter, to register a case against Deputy CM Manish Sisodia who played an "active role" in the creation of the FBU.
The central agency also sought permission from the LG for registering cases against others involved in the functioning of the FBU.
LG VK Saxena reportedly referred the CBI request to the President through the Ministry of Home Affairs, for the registration of a case against Sisodia.
The LG has also sent the CBI recommendation to the Home Ministry, regarding the registration of cases against then FBU joint director, RK Sinha, and FBU officers Pradeep Kumar Punj and Satish Khetrapa.
The AAP in a statement said "the whole country knows political spying is done by Modi, not Manish Sisodia. An FIR should be registered against Modi, not Manish Sisodia," the party said in its statement.
The CBI report said that the FBU was tasked to gather actionable feedback regarding the working of various departments of the Delhi government and also to do "trap cases".
About Delhi's Feedback Unit (FBU) and CBI charges:
The FBU started functioning in February 2016 and a fund of ₹1 crore was kept for it under "secret service expenditure". A rough analysis of the nature of reports generated by the unit revealed that while 60% of it was related to vigilance matters, political intelligence, and other issues accounted for around 40%, CBI said.
"The feedback unit was not functioning in the manner and for the purpose approved by the cabinet but was working for some other hidden purposes which were not in the interest of the GNCTD but the private interest of Aam Admi Party and Manish Sisodia, the Dy CM, who played an active role in its creation of Feedback flouting established rules of GNCTD and MHA." charged the CBI report.
It also alleged that the "unlawful" manner of creation and working of the FBU caused a loss to the government exchequer to the tune of around ₹36 lakh.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
