The Delhi Chief Minister, who was called in relation to the purported Delhi Liquor scam case, has decided not to appear before the Enforcement Directorate. Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann are scheduled to visit Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh, where they are scheduled to deliver speeches at an election rally and conduct a road show. Prior to now, the Chief Minister of Delhi questioned the validity of the summons from the Enforcement Directorate that were sent to him. On October 30, Kejriwal responded to ED’s summons notice by requesting that the agency retract the notice and raising legal concerns.
“The summon notice is illegal and politically motivated. The notice was sent at the behest of the BJP. Notice was sent to ensure that I am unable to go for election campaigning in four states. ED should withdraw the notice immediately,” Kejriwal stated in his reply to ED.
The ED’s move to summon the Delhi Chief Minister has taken a political turn with the AAP accusing the BJP of vendetta.
“This is being seen by not only India but the entire world that the Centre is drunk in power and it is so arrogant that it wants to crush every small political party. Aam Aadmi Party is a growing national party, and the BJP Government is trying everything to crush it” AAP MLA Saurabh Bharadwaj said.
In response, the BJP said that the Delhi Chief Minister had to follow the law, which was merely taking its course.
Arvind Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April this year, in connection with the case.
However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year.