Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped for the third time the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi excise policy case with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that the notices were an attempt to stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha elections.
The AAP further alleged the BJP was using the ED and CBI as “political weapons” to intimidate opposition leaders, and to hinder the success of the INDIA alliance.
The third summon by the ED was sent to Kejriwal on December 22, when he was in a Vipassana meditation camp. Earlier, before leaving for the 10-day mediation, he had skipped the summons issued to him on December 18, asking to appear on December 21.
The ED had initially summoned Kejriwal to join questioning in connection with the alleged Delhi liquor scam on November 2, which the Delhi CM had skipped, saying that the summons were unsustainable in law.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Atishi said, “The BJP’s ED is unlawfully using summons to stop Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal from campaigning in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.”
Atishi questioned on what basis Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is being summoned, emphasizing that the ED has not provided any answers to the letters of the CM yet.
She also questioned what are these questions from the ED for which responses can only be given verbally at the ED office.
She said, “The BJP-led Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued an illegal summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for the third time. In the previous two summons, CM Arvind Kejriwal questioned the legality of the summons, raising several queries in letters to the ED. He sought clarification on the basis and capacity in which he was being summoned, whether as a witness, a suspect, the CM of Delhi, or as the AAP National Convener. Despite three letters to the ED, he has not received any responses.”
She added that hence it is evident that these summons are “unlawful”, as the ED has not provided any clarification in response to Arvind Kejriwal’s queries.
The minister said, “The lack of communication from the ED suggests that the officials are aware of the dubious nature of the summons. The absence of a response indicates that these summons are politically motivated and have been sent on the directions of BJP.”
Atishi pointed out that if the summons were legitimate, the ED would have addressed CM Arvind Kejriwal’s queries and specified the reasons for calling him.
“There is a suspicion that the ED officials are hesitant to reply truthfully, as it may reveal political interference from the BJP,” she said.
The AAP leader added, “BJP is using CBI and ED as political weapons against opposition leaders. Illegal summons are sent to leaders of the INDIA Alliance, raids, and arrests are conducted without sufficient evidence, and these charges are often dropped when leaders join the BJP. Hemant Biswa Sarma, Pema Khandu, Shubhendu Adhikari, and Chagan Bujbal are some examples of this. As soon as the opposition leader under scanner joins the BJP, all charges are cleared.”
She questioned why the ED has been unable to gather evidence in the alleged liquor scam case after a year and a half of investigation. “Despite multiple raids on AAP leaders’ residences and villages, no incriminating evidence has been found. This leads to the conclusion that the ED cannot truthfully respond to Arvind Kejriwal’s queries, indicating a lack of evidence,” the minister said.
She said, “Hence, it is clear that ED cannot reply truthfully to the queries of the CM, which is why it is ignoring the letters of CM. They also know that these summons are being sent to stop CM Arvind Kejriwal from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. All the opposition leaders have come together as INDIA alliance against the BJP, this is why the BJP, by using ED and CBI wants to attack opposition leaders.”
Describing the summons issued by the ED to the Delhi Chief Minister “politically motivated”, senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that it is a conspiracy to keep Kejriwal away from campaigning before the upcoming Lok Sabha election by putting him in jail.
The minister said it is surprising that till now, despite repeated pleas, neither the ED nor the Central Government has clarified that in what capacity they are summoning Arvind Kejriwal. “Neither he is a witness, nor an accused. ED has not clarified yet. Questions also arise on the timing of summon. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, when all the parties and the central government itself is readying for the Lok Sabha elections. The Central Government is conspiring to arrest Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the Lok Sabha election so that the Chief Minister is not able to campaign,” said Bharadwaj.
AAP Delhi State Convenor Gopal Rai, mentioned that a response has been sent to the ED asking why they have summoned CM Arvind Kejriwal. “Despite repeated questioning, the ED isn’t providing any response, instead, it’s the BJP that is responding. We want to know if the ED is the BJP or if the BJP is the ED,” he said.