AAP threatens defamation case against BJP leaders for 'lying' about theft of files from Delhi secretariat

At a press conference, Manoj Tiwari and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that files were stolen from Rajasekhar's office

Hours after the BJP alleged that files were stolen from Special Secretary, Vigilance, YVVJ Rajasekhar's office at the secretariat building, the Delhi government on Friday said it will file a defamation case against the leaders of the saffron party and officers for "lying blatantly".

At a joint press conference, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri alleged that files were stolen from Rajasekhar's office and showed the CCTV footage purportedly of the theft.

The BJP leaders said a complaint will be submitted to the police commissioner for the registration of an FIR in the matter and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

They said the party will go to court if there is a delay in the registration of the FIR as the vigilance officer was handling the investigation into various corruption cases against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

Also Read | BJP to file complaint over 'stealing' of files from office of Special Secretary (Vigilance): Minister

"It has come to my notice through media reports that some Delhi BJP leaders have made grave allegations against ministers of the Delhi government accessing sensitive files in the custody of the vigilance department in the early morning of May 16," Vigilance Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said in a statement.

This is a "blatant lie", he said, adding that the turn of events in the intervening night of May 15 and 16 is already a matter of official records of the government, based on a letter submitted by the secretary (vigilance) to the chief secretary on May 17.

In a report to his superiors, Rajasekhar alleged a break-in at his office in the intervening night of May 15-16, suspecting that "sensitive files" might have been "tampered" with.

The officer is handling the vigilance probe into the alleged excise policy scam and irregularities in the renovation of the chief minister's official residence.

Bharadwaj said the official records "completely expose" the "falsehoods" of BJP leaders and some officers.

Quoting from a letter written by the vigilance secretary, the minister said the former thought that in case some papers of the file got lost, it might become a very serious issue.

"Therefore, shadow files are created on the line of seizure of documents by the CBI. A shadow file is to be made by the administrative department and one out of the two (either the original or the shadow file) is handed over to the CBI as per the guidelines of the CVC," he said, quoting from the letter.

"The undersigned directed the staff of the personal branch -- Manish (MTS) and Harish Joshi (PA) -- to get the main files from room no. 403. Shadow files were created for some files as the tonner got exhausted and the shadow files of all the documents could not be made. After that all the main files were kept in room no. 403," Bharadwaj said.

The shadow file is in the custody of the vigilance secretary, he said, adding that no file was handed over to him as on May 16.

The above incident of making shadow files was informed by the undersigned only to Rajasekhar over the phone at about 8 am on May 16, Bharadwaj said, citing the vigilance secretary's letter.

It is a matter of grave concern that the CCTV footage of the Delhi secretariat, which houses the offices of the chief minister, all other ministers and senior officers of the city government, was so easily made accessible to a political party, the AAP leader said in the statement.

"This is a serious administrative lapse and a high-level investigation will be ordered on the role of the chief secretary, the administrative head of the Delhi government, as well as all other officials concerned for allowing unauthorised access to the CCTV footage of the Delhi secretariat to a political party," he added.