The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday issued summons to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, directing him to appear before the agency on January 3, officials aware of the matter said. The ED is probing allegations of money laundering in the Delhi excise policy case.
“He has been summoned to join probe on January 3,” an officer confirmed but refused to share other details.
To be sure, this is the third time that the federal agency has summoned the Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) chief in the case, but it could be the first time that Kejriwal is questioned by ED.
Terming the summons issued by ED “illegal” the Delhi CM skipped the summons twice — November 2 and December 21.
While skipping the first summon, Kejriwal had written to the agency that the summon failed to do three things — clarify in what capacity he was being asked to appear, as a witness or a subject in the investigation, provide reasons why he was summoned, and specify whether he was called in his individual capacity or official role as CM or AAP convener — and called it a “fishing and roving” inquiry. Later that afternoon, on the day of his summon, Kejriwal flew to Singrauli in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh to address a rally.
Kejriwal, who was called by ED on Thursday(December 21), left for a scheduled break at a 10-day vipassana meditation retreat in Hoshiarpur, Punjab. He also wrote to the ED, “I am a conscientious law-abiding ordinary citizen of the country and I do not shirk away from complying with any summons issued in compliance with law, but your summons is (I am advised) not in consonance with law. The fact that you have deliberately sought my appearance only in person without specifying any reason or necessity is indicative of the motive to harass and embarrass me.”
He also pointed out that he received the summons on the eve of his pre-announced departure for vipassana (earlier scheduled to begin on December 19) to his “utter dismay and concern”. Kejriwal is expected to return to Delhi on December 30.
Earlier Kejriwal has been questioned by Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) in the same case. The two federal agencies are probing two different angles as part of the Delhi liquor policy case.
ED has arrested top AAP leaders, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in the case. In all, at least 14 people have been arrested by the agency, and ED has approached the court seeking permission to investigate AAP as a beneficiary of the “proceeds of crime”.
AAP, Kejriwal, Sisodia, and Singh have denied all charges and called the case a “witch-hunt” and “political vendetta” at the behest of the Union government.
AAP in a statement said: “This is a completely fake case only to target the AAP leadership. The BJP has not been able to produce a single evidence in the courts. It’s just political vendetta to counter the growing popularity of AAP across the country. Since CM Arvind Kejriwal has already left for vipassana on December 20, we cannot confirm if another summons has been received or not.”
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said: “The people of Delhi hope that chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will join the ED investigation on January 3 without making any excuse. For the last two times, Kejriwal has been running away from investigation by making excuses. The public can understand everything. The fact that Kejriwal is avoiding investigation clearly shows his involvement in the liquor scam and subsequent money transactions.”