After the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued two fresh summonses to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in matters related to the excise policy case and the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) functionary and cabinet minister Atishi in a press conference on Sunday alleged that the fresh summons in the DJB case seems to be a backup plan to arrest Kejriwal anyhow and prevent him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls. Atishi said that the two summonses were received merely three hours after the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls and the chief minister has been asked to present himself over the next week in both cases.
The development comes a day after Kejriwal was present in the Rouse Avenue court which granted him a regular bail following the ED’s complaints that he was not complying with its summonses in the Delhi liquor policy case.
Atishi in a press conference said that the Rouse Avenue court will now examine the legality of the case filed by the central agency and alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendnra Modi’s goal is to prevent the Delhi CM from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. “Within a few hours after the (his) court appearance, the ED has sent two more summons to the Delhi chief minister. In another fake case related to the Delhi Jal Board, he has been asked to join the investigation. We do not know what investigation is being carried out in DJB, what case has been registered? This is 100% fake case,” the water minister said.
ED has summoned Kejriwal for questioning on March 18 in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB). This is the second case registered under the anti-money laundering law in which the AAP national convenor has been called to join the probe. The agency has also issued a ninth summons to Kejriwal in the excise case asking him to appear before the ED and join the investigation on March 21.
The minister termed the development as an act of “hooliganism.” Now with electoral bonds cases in public, an extortion racket is being through the ED, CBI and I-T department. Summonses were sent to the opponents and money was taken from the companies after ED and CBI raids. ED and CBI are being used to target the opponents,” she added.
Atishi said that even the government does not know about the fresh DJB case being probed by ED. “Nobody knows what the case is or what irregularities have occurred. May be they are doubtful whether they will be able to arrest Kejriwal in excise case so this has been opened as a backup case. A third case may be opened if they can’t arrest him in this case as well,” she added.
In a second press conference, AAP leader and MLA Dilip Pandey said that the chief minister has been responding to the ED summons and it was the investigative agency which had approached the court in the matter. “CM had stated that he will appear before the court after the budget session gets over. The latest notice shows the desperation of the BJP and the central government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls,” he added. Pandey said that the legal team of the AAP is examining the summons and appropriate response will be issued.
Under the excise policy case, the ED had first asked the Delhi chief minister to appear before it on November 2 last year to depose before the probe agency. He termed the summons “illegal” and asked ED to withdraw them. The second summons was issued on December 18, the third one on January 3, the fourth on January 18, the fifth on February 2, the sixth on February 19, the seventh on February 22, the eighth on February 26 and the ninth on March 16.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva commented on the ninth summons sent to the chief minister by the ED, stating that the investigative agency is working independently, but Kejriwal is repeatedly flouting the law. “Arvind Kejriwal’s bail in a case taken yesterday has nothing to do with the liquor policy case. After disrespecting the summonses which Kejriwal previously claimed were illegal, he has now taken bail, confirming the validity of the summons. The conduct and language of the Aam Aadmi Party leaders resemble that of thugs, which is a testament to their character.”
Sachdeva said that the second summon is in the Delhi Jal Board case which is another proof of looting. “The people of Delhi know how the Jal Board has been looted, and the BJP has always said that the Jal Board scam is bigger than the liquor scam. When Kejriwal came to power, he made big promises to end the tanker mafia, while at that time the Jal Board was making a profit of ₹1,200 crore, but today it is incurring a loss of ₹80,000 crore. Four to five officials have been arrested because fake documents were made and money was looted. Work was shown on paper but the ground reality is completely different. Contractors were paid and they took their commission in that payment.”
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