Satyendar Jain Should Be Given Padma Bhushan, Says Kejriwal; BJP Slams AAP Govt

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was sent to ED custody on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal.

(Photo: Samarth Grover/The Quint)

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Wednesday, 1 June, that Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate, should be awarded Padma Bhushan for implementing the ‘mohalla clinic’ model, which provides medical treatment free of cost.

According to a report by The Indian Express, he told reporters in Delhi,

“The country should be proud of him as he gave the model of Mohalla Clinic that are being visited by people from the world, including (ex) Secretary General of the UN. He gave a health model that treats people free of cost.”

He added, “I think, he should be given top awards like the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan.”

Jain was sent to ED custody on Tuesday after he was arrested in connection with alleged hawala transactions linked to a Kolkata-based company.

Later the same day, Kejriwal termed the case a "fraud" and said that the entire investigation against Jain was "completely fake." He had previously said that the health minister has been targeted because of political reasons.

Aam Aadmi Party leader Jain currently holds the health, home, power, public works department, industries, urban development and flood, irrigation, and water portfolios in the Delhi government as a minister.

'Should Jain Be Declared 'Desh ka Gaddar'?: Smriti Irani

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Wednesday, questioned why AAP is defending a minister involved in a money laundering case and slammed the party for allowing Jain to continue in the government, reported The Indian Express.

Union Minister and senior BJP leader Smriti Irani said during a press conference,

“Kejriwal ji yesterday said corruption tantamount to desh ki gaddari. Does he know he is patronising those who have deceived the treasury and the people? Should he be declared as a desh ka gaddar? How long will he receive his support?”

Irani raised a series of questions aimed at Kejriwal and the AAP government, and asked if it was not the truth that the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax said that Satyendar Jain owned black money worth Rs 16.39 crore.

She added that the Division Bench Delhi High Court said in a 2019 order that Satyendar Jain had committed money laundering.

Claiming that Jain has admitted to these charges, she questioned, “My first question is to Arvind Kejriwal ji. Can he clarify that Satyendar Jain has given Rs 16.39 crore to four shell companies through his family members, through 56 shell companies, with the help of hawala operators from 2010-16?”

(With inputs from Indian Express.)