On the eve of I.N.D.I.A meeting, the Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to appear before its investigators on December 21 in a money laundering case linked to the case concerning irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
Kejriwal was earlier summoned on November 2 but he refused to appear before it after shooting of a letter to the agency, demanding the withdrawal of the notice, which he described as “motivated”, “issued for extraneous considerations”, “vague”, “unsustainable in law” and “issued at the behest” of the ruling BJP.
Soon after the notice, AAP’s senior Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak said lawyers were studying the notice even as he described the case as “fake and bogus”.
“Anybody who questions Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets suspended or arrested. Modi fears and hates Arvind Kejriwal. Modiji is most scared by Kejriwal’s politics and his Delhi model of governance. This is a bogus and fake case,” he told reporters here.
Kejriwal is scheduled to attend a 10-day Vipassana meditation course from Tuesday though its location was not publicised by the party. Pathak did not confirm whether Kejriwal would honour the summons this time but said a call will be taken after the lawyers study the notice.
The CBI had on April 16 questioned Kejriwal for nearly nine hours in this case as a “witness” and was posed 56 questions, including about how the work on the policy started and other issues. While Sisodia was arrested on February 26 this year, Singh was taken into custody on October 4.
The ED case was registered on the basis of a CBI FIR filed on August 17 last year in which Sisodia was named among others. The CBI had conducted raids in the case on August 19 last year at Sisodia’s residence, former Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna’s premises, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.
In its charge sheets, the ED had mentioned Kejriwal’s name multiple times based on statements given by other accused. It claimed the accused were introduced to him by his close aides, including Singh, regarding the preparation and execution of the now-scrapped excise policy.
Earlier this year, TRS leader and former Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha was questioned by the ED in this case.
In his letter to ED Assistant Director Jogender on November 2, the Chief Minister said there was no clarity on whether he was summoned as a witness or a suspect and the summons failed to provide details in relation to the case or the reason for which he was summoned. It “appears to be in the nature of a fishing and roving inquiry”, he had said.
Demanding the recall of the summons, which is “to say the least is vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law”, he referred to BJP leaders talking about the ED issuing summons to him and his imminent arrest before the agency issued it to him.
(Published 18 December 2023, 12:39 IST)