The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday summoned Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi excise policy case for the sixth time.
The probe agency asked Mr. Kejriwal to appear before it for questioning on February 19, the day the Delhi government is supposed to present its budget.
Finance Minister Atishi had said on Tuesday that this year’s budget will focus on education, health, and roads — areas where the ruling AAP claims to have delivered.
A Rouse Avenue court had sought Mr. Kejriwal’s presence on February 17 after he skipped five notices issued by the probe agency. The court’s order came in response to a complaint by the ED on February 3, a day after he skipped the fifth summons issued by it in a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped policy.
The court had noted that Mr. Kejriwal was “legally bound” to comply with the summonses. The CM had earlier termed the ED summonses “illegal” and “politically motivated”.
Reacting to the court order, the ruling party had said that they would seek legal advice.
The ED has arrested several persons, including senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia, alleging that they played a key role in the formulation and implementation of the policy for 2021-22, which benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers for monetary considerations.
The agency has alleged that the money earned through the “scam” was diverted through “hawala” channels for the AAP’s campaign in the 2022 Goa Assembly election.
‘CM should cooperate’
AAP did not offer any comment on the fresh ED summons.
However, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva said he hoped that the CM would now cooperate with the agency. “He has not obtained any relief [from the court] on his plea against the ED summonses till date,” Mr. Sachdeva said.
