Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal has skipped Enforcement Directorate (ED) summon for the fifth time today and didn't appear for questioning in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, the party said.
The AAP maintained that the notices are "illegal" and also alleged that the BJP wants to topple its government in Delhi by getting Kejriwal arrested.
Kejriwal was scheduled to participate in a protest along with his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi on Friday against the alleged cheating in Chandigarh mayoral polls.
The ED on Wednesday, for the fifth time, issued fresh summons to Arvind Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier notices issued by the federal agency over the last four months.
Though the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) remained tight-lipped about whether the Delhi CM will appear before the probe agency, sources in the party said that he is likely to skip the summons this time too, a news agency PTI report said.
The ED summon pertains to the excise policy-linked money laundering case, for which his party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain have been jailed. Satyendar Jain is currently out on bail.
Allegations are that Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act).
The last time ED summoned Arvind Kejriwal to appear in connection with the Delhi excise policy or the alleged liquor scam case was on January 18. Delhi CM Kejriwal skipped the summon and left for Goa.
Kejriwal has been summoned previously on January 18, January 3 this year and December 21, November 2 last year.
Kejriwal had alleged that the BJP offered ₹25 crore each to seven of his MLAs, a claim that prompted the BJP to file a police complaint. The ruling party in Delhi accused the BJP of resorting to "dirty conspiracies" to overthrow the Kejriwal government, asserting that the BJP's actions stem from its inability to secure victories in Delhi elections.
