‘ED, BJP don’t respect court': Atishi on ED's presence at Kejriwal residence

Delhi minister Atishi on Thursday alleged political conspiracy to arrest chief minister Arvind Kejriwal

Updated on: Mar 21, 2024, 20:22:47 IST

By HT News Desk

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Delhi minister Atishi on Thursday alleged political conspiracy to arrest chief minister Arvind Kejriwal after the Enforcement Directorate arrived at his residence with a search warrant in the Delhi excise policy case.

“It is clear that the ED and their masters, the BJP, do not respect the courts. Had this been the case, they would not have come to raid the residence of Arvind Kejriwal today itself... This is a political conspiracy and they are here to arrest Arvind Kejriwal,” the minister told ANI.

“Within an hour of the court issuing notice, they (ED) arrived at the residence of Arvind Kejriwal. This shows that today, the ED is not an independent investigative agency. It is a political weapon of the BJP,” the minister was quoted by PTI as saying.

An ED team is at Kejriwal's residence after the Delhi high court refused to grant him protection from coercive action by the ED in the Delhi excise policy case. Heavy police deployment has been enforced outside Arvind Kejriwal's residence. Multiple iron barricades brought in and are being placed outside to form a security cordon. The police are asking for identification documents and checking the IDs of people who want to go inside through the main gate.

Delhi minister Atishi lashed out at the BJP, saying the party does not respect the courts.

“The way police are inside the house of the CM and no one is allowed to enter it seems, the CM house has been raided. It seems, there is preparation to arrest the CM,” Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told ANI.

In another development, Kejriwal has moved the Supreme Court following the HC's order. His legal team is seeking urgent listing and hearing in the case. The bench listed the AAP leader's application for further consideration on April 22 when his main petition challenging the summons is fixed for hearing, and asked the Enforcement Directorate to file its response.

The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

(With PTI, ANI inputs)

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