Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party on Monday stepped up its opposition to multiple corruption probes initiated by lieutenant governor V. K. Saxena.

Despite an overwhelming majority of 62 out of 70 seats, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tabled a motion of confidence on Monday. He said in his speech: “I challenge all the rivals, try buying out a single AAP MLA if you dare to; Operation Lotus has failed in Delhi and so will any other such attempt. They have overthrown the governments of Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Goa, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Assam, and they are about to overthrow the government of Jharkhand as well.

“When nothing came out of the CBI raid, they were given a new directive from above that there would be no mention of liquor anymore. Instead they are to ask why new classrooms and toilets were built in schools. Yes we did, we gave our girl students more washrooms to use, what wrong did we do?”

Earlier this month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided several premises including the home as well as office of deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to probe alleged corruption by him and other officials in the allocation of liquor licences. Last week, Saxena asked chief secretary Naresh Kumar for a report on a 2020 vigilance report on “gross irregularities and procedural lapses” that include counting toilets as classrooms to inflate figures related to school infrastructure.

Kejriwal said: “People asked me what was the need of this motion? There is a need to do this. We want to show that every MLA, worker and minister of AAP is kattar imandar. To prove that Operation Lotus succeeded everywhere else but it will be foiled in Delhi.”

Opposition BJP MLAs were marshalled out after they protested when the session began. Leader of the Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said: “The Kejriwal government indulged in corruption, and it is scared to even discuss these issues. That is why the Opposition is being constantly thrown out of the House. The AAP government is behaving in a dictatorial and arbitrary way.”

All BJP MLAs will now approach the President regarding this matter and we will also raise the issue of continuous misuse of the House with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha.”During the debate on the motion, AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak attempted to turn the tables of probity on the lieutenant governor by alleging a Rs 1,400 crore scam by him during his term as Khadi and Village Industries Commission chairman.

Pathak claimed: “Khadi stores had stopped accepting old currency but Vinai Kumar Saxena forced the cashiers to take his cash and get it exchanged as if it belonged to Khadi… Saxena rinsed the allegations to an extent that CBI never even mentioned his name in their complaint. AAP demands that Saxena’s name be added to the CBI complaint. Clear cut case of money laundering, there should be an ED investigation into the matter. Saxena has no right to remain the lieutenant governor of Delhi”

Saxena’s office did not respond to the charge. AAP MLAs are protesting all night in front of the Mahatma Gandhi’s statue inside the Assembly, demanding the lieutenant governor’s removal and a probe. The trust vote is expected to take place on Tuesday.