THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Nov 2: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not appear for the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, sources said. The summons were related to an investigation into a money laundering case associated with the alleged liquor policy scandal.
The probe agency was also informed by Kejriwal in a letter that the summons was unlawful and politically motivated. He asserted that the BJP had requested the issuance of the summons.
The leader of AAP expressed that the ED’s summons was a deliberate effort to prevent him from campaigning in four states and appealed to the investigative agency to promptly rescind it.
Kejriwal in a letter to Jogendar, the Assistant Director of the ED, said, “The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law”.
“Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, BJP leaders started making statements that soon I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons. It is thus apparent that the said summons was leaked to select BJP leaders to malign my image and reputation and has been issued at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre,” he stated in his letter.
“Being the National Convenor and a stay campaigner of the Aam Aadmi Party, a National Party, which is contesting elections, I am required to travel for campaigning and to provide political guidance to my field workers of Aam Aadmi Party,” he further stated.
“As the Chief Minister of the State of NCT of Delhi, I have governance and official commitments, for which my presence is required, particularly in view of the Diwali festivities coming up in the second week of November, 2023,” his letter added.
According to sources, the ED was reviewing Kejriwal’s letter and may shortly send the Delhi Chief Minister a new summons. The senior ED officers will make the final call on the new summons.
In preparation for the Assembly elections, Kejriwal was en route to Madhya Pradesh to campaign.
The ED had summoned Kejriwal in connection with the same case that had led to the apprehension of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh on October 4 and his erstwhile deputy, Manish Sisodia, in February of this year.
Earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) questioned Kejriwal for about nine hours in April regarding the case.
