CBI spokesperson 'emphatically denies' search of Delhi CM's office

The Delhi Chief Minister dismissed as a "lie" the CBI and the government's assertion that the raid targeted not him but Rajender Kumar - Kejriwal's Principal Secretary, who has been accused of corruption.

"They (CBI) had come to search for DDCA files which have Jaitley ji's name, as he had been president of DDCA and probe is on", he added.

He said his office didn't maintain files beyond 10-15 days old. "If the tenders were wrong, why didn't the CBI raid offices of ministers in Sheila Dikshit government?"

MAMATA, NITISH SLAM CENTRE Standing by her Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday expressed "shock" over the CBI being sent to "raid" his office. "I will keep fighting for the country", Kejriwal told media. "Let Modi say which file he desires?"

He gave a new twist to the CBI raid episode and claimed that it was conducted to shield Arun Jaitley in the DDCA scam.

"We are investigating a case against a staffer from the chief minister's office", said the CBI's spokesman, RK Gaur.

The CBI claims it has found about Rs. 13 lakh cash in raids on Rajender Kumar and another person.

"Which file was CBI looking for in my office?" How can you criticize the central government and the prime minister? The allegations refer to a period before Mr. Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi.

Kejriwal on Tuesday morning tweeted that CBI raided his office, triggering a political storm.

The Left party questioned why Kejriwal was not consulted before raiding a bureaucrat's office, which is located on the same floor as that of the Chief Minister. A CBI spokesperson, however, said the searches were being conducted only at the office of Kumar, a senior IAS officer.

Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta said the chief minister is making an issue out of nothing.

Delhi Government and AAP reacted angrily to the "raid" calling it a "darkest" day and "undeclared emergency" in the history of Indian democracy. "You apologise to the nation for your misdeeds and I will apologise for my words", Kejriwal said in the evening after the BJP attack on him for his strong words against Modi.