Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday (February 27) attacked the BJP over the ED summons to Arvind Kejriwal and said that the saffron party either wants AAP to leave the Opposition's I.N.D.I.A bloc or send the Delhi Chief Minister to jail. This comes after ED issued eighth summons to Kejriwal for questioning in connection with the liquor policy scam. The AAP stressed that it will not leave the Opposition's alliance "no matter what".
"Everybody is now aware as to why ED is so desperate now. The matter is already pending in court (March 16)...Why can't the ED wait for the court's decision?...They (BJP) want us to either leave the INDIA alliance or see him (Arvind Kejriwal) in jail...We will not leave the INDIA alliance no matter what..." AAP leader Dilip Pandey said.
Kejriwal on Monday skipped the ED's 7th summons for questioning in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.
Earlier, the probe agency sent a seventh summons to Kejriwal on February 22 after the Delhi CM did not appear before the probe agency on the sixth summons for questioning in a money laundering case. The
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had skipped all seven summons. Irked with Kejriwal's non-cooperation, the probe agency moved the court.
What is the Excise policy case?
According to the probe agencies, 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 scrapped after Delhi LG V K Saxena in July, 2022, recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities and lapses in its implementation. After the CBI, the ED also registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the matter.
AAP announces names of candidates for Lok Sabha polls
AAP leader and Delhi Minister Gopal Rai on Tuesday (February 27) announced the names of candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. This comes days after AAP and Congress forged seat-sharing formula in several states, including UT Delhi, as part of which the AAP will contest in four seats in the national capital while Congress will fight in the remaining three seats.
"In Delhi - Kuldeep Kumar will contest from East Delhi, Somnath Bharti will contest from New Delhi, Sahi Ram Pehelwan will contest from South Delhi and Mahabal Mishra will contest from West Delhi. In Haryana - Sushil Gupta will contest from Kurukshetra," Rai said.
