The Enforcement Directorate has filed a complaint in the Rouse Avenue Court in the national capital against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping the summons for questioning in the liquor policy case. The court will hear the matter on February 7. This comes after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons issued to him by the agency recently. Kejriwal had skipped four summons earlier in the last four months.
“Arvind Kejriwal is not appearing even after being given summons. He is a public servant,” ED said.
The Aam Aadmi Party has alleged that the ED summons against Kejriwal were politically motivated claiming that he may be arrested to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections. The AAP has maintained that its legal team is studying the summons issued to Kejriwal in connection with the excise policy linked money laundering case.
AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar said that the party will submit a response before the court and abide by the verdict.
"The entire case is politically motivated. The people of Delhi are very well aware that there is no such thing as called liquor scam and this is the reason not a penny has been recovered by any of our leaders by the ED or investigating agencies. This matter is now pending in the court and we will submit a response in the court and abide by whatever the court directs..." she said.
BJP reacts
The BJP lashed out at the AAP over Kejriwal skipping the ED summons and termed him "Bhagoda (absconder) Kejriwal".
"Till date, people of Delhi and India knew Kejriwal as 'Bhashtachari Kejriwal' for the kind of corruption he has done right from 'Dawa' to 'Daru'. But now they are saying he is 'Bhagoda Kejriwal' because the same Kejriwal when he skips summons from the agency five times making all kinds of lame excuses then normally any other agency will pursue the course of law and will approach the court for the next legal action..." BJP National Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said.
Liquor policy case
It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
