New Delhi:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal – who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for the fifth time – today said he will once again skip questioning in the Delhi liquor policy case.
He was asked to appear before the probe agency at its headquarters in Delhi today.
This comes after Arvind Kejriwal skipped the January 19 interrogation and said the ED summons was illegal and its sole purpose was to arrest him.
Mr Kejriwal, who is also the chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had refused to appear before the probe agency on three previous summons on November 2, December 21 and January 3.
The AAP has labeled the agency's actions as “politically motivated” and “unlawful”. The AAP has labeled the agency's actions as “politically motivated” and “unlawful”. “Prime Minister Modi's aim is to arrest Arvind Kejriwal and topple the Delhi government. We will not allow this to happen,” the party said in a statement.
The AAP chief had been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the case in April but had not been charged by the agency.
Ever since the first summons was issued by the Enforcement Directorate, there has been intense speculation that the Delhi Chief Minister would be arrested after his interrogation by the agency.
With three of its leaders – Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Satyendra Jain – behind bars, AAP has been anticipating this possibility for long and has been discussing possible courses of action. They even want Mr Kejriwal to remain Chief Minister and do his work from jail.
The CBI claims that liquor companies were involved in formulating the excise policy, which would have earned them a profit of 12 percent. A liquor lobby she called the “South Group” had paid bribes, some of which went to officials. The Enforcement Directorate alleged that the bribes had been laundered.
The BJP has alleged that proceeds from the alleged scam were used by the AAP to fund its massive campaign in Gujarat, in which it polled 12.91 percent of the votes and established itself as a national party.