Union Minister Anurag Thakur took a swipe at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after the latter was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case. According to official sources, Kejriwal has been summoned for questioning on November 2.
Speaking to reporters on the matter, Thakur slammed Kejriwal and accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of indulging in corruption in Delhi and Punjab. The Union Minister also hit out at the Delhi Chief Minister for "giving certificates for honesty" to the jailed leaders of his party.
Thakur slams Kejriwal
"Those who used to give certificates of honesty, his ministers went to jail one after the other and did not even get bail. For the last year, Arvind Kejriwal has been giving certificates for honesty to Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain and Sanjay Singh," Thakur said.
"The truth is that ever since he came to power, their leaders have been involved in corruption...AAP has done corruption in Delhi and Punjab. Today the situation is such that it is unknown whether the number of their ministers in jail is more or outside..." he further added.
Summons to Kejriwal
It should be mentioned here that Kejriwal has been allegedly issued the summons under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He is likely to record his statement once he deposes before the investigating officer of the case in Delhi. This is the first time that Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED. He was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the case in April.
The ED has mentioned Kejriwal's name multiple times in its chargesheets filed in the case and said the accused were in touch with him regarding the preparation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The agency has claimed in one of the chargesheets that it has recorded the statement of Butchibabu, an accountant allegedly linked to Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha.
(With inputs from agencies)
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