‘Summons sent by BJP, not ED’: AAP's Raghav Chadha on ED's call to Kejriwal

Kejriwal was summoned by the ED to appear before it for questioning on Thursday for the second time.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha on Thursday slammed the summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, saying the entire case is “fake”. Alleging that the BJP has sent the summon and not the central agency, Chadha said that their “purpose is to implicate” Kejriwal and the AAP.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha (Sanjeev Verma/ HT Photo)

“The agency does not have any evidence and there is no irregularity in this case, rather all this conspiracy has been hatched to implicate AAP and CM Arvind Kejriwal... The summon was sent when CM Arvind Kejriwal had announced a week ago that he would go for Vipassana for 10 days. It was sent because their purpose is not to investigate but to implicate the CM and finish the Aam Aadmi Party...We feel that this summon has not been sent by the agency but by the BJP,” the AAP leader told news agency ANI.

Kejriwal was summoned by the ED to appear before it for questioning on Thursday, but he skipped it and went for a 10-day Vipassana meditation course at a center in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district. This was the second time he was called by the central agency in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam. He was previously called by the central agency on November 2, however, Kejriwal did not depose, alleging that the notice was “vague, motivated and unsustainable in law” and instead flew to Singrauli in Madhya Pradesh to address a political rally.

Earlier in the day, the Delhi CM responded to the ED summons saying he has “nothing to hide”. “I am ready to accept every legal summons. This summons of ED is also illegal like the previous ones. ED's summons are politically motivated. They should be withdrawn. I lived my life with honesty and transparency. I have nothing to hide,” he said.

What is the Delhi excise policy case?

The Delhi government had come up with an excise policy in 2021-22 aiming to revitalise the city's flagging liquor business by replacing the sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders. The government had also promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. However, the policy was scrapped after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena sought a CBI probe into the policy alleging irregularities.

According to the ED, AAP received kickbacks to the tune of ₹100 crore to finalise the excise policy, and a large chunk of this money was used by the party in its Goa election campaign. The central agency in its charge sheet said that there was an involvement of certain ‘South Group’ in the alleged irregularities.

The ED has so far arrested top AAP leaders - former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in the case.