Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is set to embark upon a two-day visit to Gujarat on January 7, sources in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said here on Saturday amid speculations of his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Kejriwal’s scheduled Gujarat visit was proposed to be of three days but it was reduced to two days as he had to attend a meeting on Saturday with Delhi Finance Minister Atishi and other officials ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly’s Budget session, the sources said.
“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had an important meeting regarding Delhi’s budget on Saturday, CM Kejriwal will go on Gujarat tour tomorrow,” they said.
“CM Arvind Kejriwal’s three-day visit to Gujarat was proposed, but due to the budget-related meeting, the visit to Gujarat will be for two days,” the sources said, adding that the Chief Minister will go on Gujarat tour tomorrow, January 7.
The Chief Minister will also hold a review meeting with the party leaders ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls at 7 pm tomorrow.
Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped for the third time the summons issued by the ED in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Alleging that the BJP wants him arrested so that he can’t take part in campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls, Kejriwal on Thursday said his biggest strength and asset is his “honesty”.
He alleged that the ED has sent “false summons” to him.
“These people (BJP) want to malign my image by making false allegations and sending false summons,” he claimed.
Senior AAP leader and Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Thursday alleged that the BJP had conspired to arrest the Delhi Chief Minister to take advantage of his absence during the Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing the press at the party headquarters here, Bharadwaj said, “It’s a nationwide discussion that the Central Government wants to arrest Delhi’s CM Arvind Kejriwal. For the last two years, we have been hearing that an alleged excise corruption has happened. Every day the BJP conducts press conferences. As per the corruption of worth crores happened, yet not a single penny has been recovered.”
“Now, the ED is summoning repeatedly and his lawyers are telling him that this summons is illegal. Whatever information they want they can take, they have all the documents, and evidence but their case is not finding any ground in the courts. They are not able to initiate the trials, only lodging one charge sheet after another. The BJP people say that the law is taking its course and agencies are doing their deed,” Bharadwaj said.