Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yet again skipped the summons issued against him by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor policy case on Thursday, the fourth summons he received in the past few months.
Sources said the chief minister refused to appear in person before the ED as he found the latest summons “arbitrary, mala fide, and illegal”.
Speaking to media on Thursday, Kejriwal said that the federal agency had asked him to appear before it on January 18 or 19. He said the earlier notices were illegal and invalid, and the probe agency has not yet given him a reply with regard to any of his responses with regard to the summons.
He further said whenever such notices have been issued, they have been quashed by court. The notices are general and non- specific in nature, which further raises questions as to why they were sent, he said.
“These notices are nothing but just political vendetta,” the AAP chief reiterated.
Kejriwal claimed that these notices were nothing but attempts by the central dispensation to keep him away from campaigning for the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
He also accused the BJP of being the mind behind the alleged conspiracy, adding that their only intention is to arrest him so that he is not able to campaign for the elections.
Talking about the liquor scam, he said the same was being probed for over two years now, but the investigators did not find anything.
“They are recording false statements at times by creating pressure and also doing everything to frame the leaders,” he added.
Earlier, in response to the ED’s summons, the chief minister had cited the Rajya Sabha polls and preparations for Republic Day as reasons for appearing before it. He had also suggested responding to a questionnaire.
He had also mentioned in his reply that the agency’s “non-disclosure about the exact cause of notice and as to why and in what capacity he was called and also no – response to his previous replies” also forced him to skip the proceedings.
The ED had also previously issued summons to Kejriwal on October 30, December 18 and December 21 last year, and in response to those, detailed replies were filed by Kejriwal on November 2 and December 19, 2023 and January 3 this year, sources said.
Meanwhile, AAP leaders have accused the BJP dispensation of plotting to arrest the Delhi chief minister as the Centre was scared of the rapidly growing popularity of the party and its leaders.