AAP, BJP in war of words after CBI searches Delhi ex-MLA Durgesh Pathak's home

The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of former AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak in connection with alleged violations of foreign funds norms, officials said.

The agency has registered a case against him for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, they said.

Conspiracy born out of fear: AAP

Reacting to the searches, AAP MP Sanjay Singh slammed the ruling BJP government for trying "every trick" to destroy the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"BJP's dirty game starts again. CBI has reached the house of Gujarat's co-incharge @ipathak25. Modi Government has tried every trick to destroy @AamAadmiParty but still there is no peace. BJP's condition in Gujarat is bad. As soon as @ipathak25 was made co-incharge of Gujarat, CBI was sent to threaten him," the Rajya Sabha MP said on X.

Describing the move as "politically motivated", AAP alleged that it was aimed at derailing the party's preparations for the 2027 Gujarat Assembly elections. Pathak is the party's co-incharge for Gujarat.

Elections are due in Gujarat in 2027.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "The BJP's attempts to finish off the AAP have begun once again. They have jailed our leader, arrested our top leadership, and now our PAC member and Gujarat co-incharge Durgesh Pathak has been raided by the CBI. The only reason is that AAP is gaining ground in Gujarat."

Singh claimed that as soon as Pathak began holding meetings in Gujarat to strengthen the party's base, the BJP responded by sending the central agency after him.

There was no immediate response available from the BJP to the AAP's allegations.

Echoing similar sentiments, senior AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on X, "CBI raid at Durgesh Pathak's house as soon as he got responsibility for Gujarat elections 2027! This is not a coincidence, this is a conspiracy born out of fear."

AAP is corrupt party: BJP

Meanwhile, the Delhi BJP called the AAP a "corrupt" party and claimed the money "extorted" through the liquor scam in Delhi was used in the Goa assembly polls when Durgesh Pathak was in-charge of the state.

"AAP is a corrupt party. Pathak was in-charge of Goa where the money extorted through liquor scam in Delhi was used in the Assembly elections," Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva charged.

On the accusation that BJP was trying to derail AAP's Gujarat poll strategy, Sachdeva hit back, saying the polls in Gujarat are two years away and asked why AAP leaders are troubled if the CBI is doing its work.

AAP in Gujarat

Condemning the raid, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi pointed out that as soon as AAP started preparations for Gujarat elections, CBI reached the house of Gujarat co-incharge Durgesh Pathak.

"This shows BJP's frustration," she posted on X.

Pathak, who won the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat in 2022, lost to BJP's Umang Bajaj in the 2025 elections. He was also AAP's in-charge for Goa during the 2022 Assembly elections.

The AAP had secured five seats and a 14 per cent vote share in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls, and has since been looking to expand its footprint in the state.

(With inputs from agencies)