Arvind Kejriwal says ED summon is ‘politically motivated’, to stop his campaign in four states

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is scheduled to appear in front of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday in connection with the excise policy case, has said that the agency’s summon has come at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and to stop the AAP leader from campaigning in four states. 

“The summon notice is illegal and politically motivated. This notice has been sent at the behest of BJP. The notice was sent so that I could be stopped from going and campaigning in four states. ED should withdraw the notice immediately,” said Kejriwal. 

As per India Today sources, CM Kejriwal was scheduled to travel to Madhya Pradesh’s Singhrauli today as part of his electoral campaign schedule. It is yet to be seen whether Arvind Kejriwal will appear before the ED today. As per sources, he is likely to skip the summon. 

Meanwhile, a large number of security personnel have been deployed in central Delhi to prevent AAP workers and supporters from gathering outside the ED office. The ED will record CM Kejriwal’s statement at 11 am in connection with a money laundering case linked to the excise policy case. 

Along with the ED, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy for 2021-22 that allegedly favoured certain liquor dealers. Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had recommended a CBI probe in July last year, based on a report of the chief secretary of the Delhi government. 

The report had cited various alleged irregularities including a waiver of Rs 144 crore to the retail licencees citing impact on sales due to COVID-19 and a refund of Rs 30 crore to a successful bidder for the airport zone who failed to obtain a no objection certificate for opening liquor stores there, officials said.

Another allegation was that the commission of wholesale licensees was raised from five per cent to 12 per cent in an instance of "quid pro quo", they added.

(With inputs from Amit Bhardwaj, agencies)

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