DDCA probe seeks Intelligence Bureau, CBI sleuths’ aid

New Delhi: In an unusual move that could spark another face-off between the AAP government and the Centre, former solicitor-general Gopal Subramanium has asked national security adviser Ajit Doval to make available five officers each from the Intelligence Bureau, CBI and Delhi police for his probe into alleged financial irregularities in DDCA. While the Union home ministry is yet to take a call on the AAP government-appointed inquiry commission headed by Mr Subramanium, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal struck a defiant note, saying even if the probe was struck down by the Centre, his administration will go ahead and investigate alleged irregularities.

The BJP accused Mr Subramanium of working at the behest of the AAP, and it asked Mr Kejriwal to read the Constitution, saying many of decisions had been “unconstitutional”. Undeterred by these accusations, Mr Kejriwal set off a sensation as he claimed that an unnamed DDCA official had asked for sex from a journalist’s wife in exchange for selecting her son in a cricket team.

In his letter to the NSA, Mr Subramanium asked him to provide the officers along with their dossiers, a move that was described by the BJP as “cheap publicity and propaganda”. A highly-placed MHA source said that Mr Subramanium had addressed the letter to the “wrong” person as the NSA had no role in providing officers to any state. “Central government officials cannot participate in any state inquiry commission. The role of the IB is to gather intelligence. Why he wants IB officers... he alone can answer.”

Mr Kejriwal, however, defended Mr Subramanium’s letter, saying he had powers and the right to seek officers from anywhere for the probe. Mr Subramanium had also written to Mr Kejriwal requesting him to send the names of five “outstanding” investigative officers from the anti-corruption branch with their dossiers. Mr Subramanium told the CM he had written to Mr Doval as the Central government “itself called upon the Delhi government” to get an investigation done into alleged irregularities in the DDCA.

“Obviously, this means the Central government would render all possible assistance in this regard,” the top lawyer wrote. In his letter to Mr Doval, Mr Subramanium said “some of the disclosures may also pertain to national security”. He added: “It is important I must ask you to step in and offer suitably qualified officers who will also be morally endowed to assist the commission.”

From Mr Doval,  Mr Subramanium sought shortlisted dossiers of five of the “best officers of the IB, who should be of the level of joint director and below”, five CBI officers and five Delhi police officers, with their records.

“I would leave it to your discretion to choose any officers(s) from any other state cadres you believe to be competent,” he added. The lawyer said his request to Mr Doval was a part of the inquiry procedure which calls for appropriate “logistical infrastructure” before beginning the probe.

“I don’t want in hindsight to feel that he (Doval) was not sufficiently briefed as he is a person who understands the ramifications correctly and that is why I wrote to him. I cannot judge by my personal imagination who can be a competent person to investigate,” he said.

Accusing Mr Subramanium of working at the behest of the AAP government, the BJP asked Mr Kejriwal to read the Constitution, alleging several of his decisions have been “unconstitutional”. BJP secretary Shrikant Sharma said: “It is not within the legal purview of the Delhi government to probe the DDCA, which is registered as a society under the Companies Act. Subramanium is doing such drama at the behest of Kejriwal, who is used to taking unconstitutional decisions.

“It is nothing but part of its propaganda. Mr Kejriwal should read the Constitution so that he can focus on what his government should be doing, like sanitation and preventing dengue from recurring, and not what it should not be doing.”

Delhi lieutenant-governor Najeeb Jung has already questioned the legality of the commission’s appointment. Mr Sharma recalled the AAP government had appointed Swati Maliwal as Delhi Commission for Women chief in an “unconstitutional” manner after doing it again in the “proper way” on the advice of the L-G.

Accusing Mr Kejriwal of raking up the DDCA issue to deflect attention from the CBI probe against his principal secretary, he said the CM has a “history” of working to save the guilty and cited the example of the cases of two former law ministers, both arrested on criminal charges and who are now out on bail.

“AAP is in fact a ‘pakhandi’ aam aadmi party (PAAP),” he said in a dig. “The more muck Kejriwal will throw at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley, the more he will sink into it,” Mr Sharma said.

While Mr Kejriwal said the file pertaining to setting up of the commission had been forwarded to the PMO by the home ministry, well-placed sources said the file was still with the MHA. “No view has been communicated to the L-G so far. The ministry will be sending its opinion in a day or two to Raj Niwas,” a source said.

Earlier, Mr Kejriwal tweeted: “Is it true that MHA has sent DDCA file to PM to decide whether to declare Enquiry Commission illegal. What will PM do — declare it illegal or allow enquiry? Though it will have no impact on ongoing enquiry commission.”

In a TV interview, Mr Kejriwal  accused an unnamed DDCA official of asking for sex in return for selection of cricketers. “A senior journalist came to me and said his wife was asked to come for sex in return for selection of his son in the cricket team,” he told the television channel. Mr Kejriwal did not name the journalist or offer any evidence, but told the channel the journalist was ready to testify at an inquiry. He also said “apart from the financial irregularities at DDCA, there were other major wrong things happening, including the sex racket”. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should decide “whether to make the DDCA inquiry null and void to protect (finance minister) Arun Jaitley”.