A day after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal decided to disregard the Enforcement Directorate’s subsequent summons regarding the liquor policy case, the agency issued a new directive requiring the Delhi chief minister to present himself on January 3. The agency initially summoned CM Kejriwal on Thursday; however, he had departed for a previously planned 10-day vipassana (meditation) retreat a day before the summons was scheduled.
In response to the Enforcement Directorate’s recent action, Arvind Kejriwal criticized the summons as ‘illegal’ and ‘politically motivated,’ asserting his commitment to transparency. He emphasized his readiness to comply with legal summonses but labeled the ED’s actions as unjust, echoing sentiments of their earlier summons.
He expressed, “The timing of your summons raises significant doubts and reinforces my belief that they lack any objective or reasonable basis, but rather appear to be part of a propaganda effort to create sensational news in the last months preceding the highly anticipated parliamentary elections in the country,” stated the AAP leader.
The Delhi government withdrew the initial summons in October amid an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering related to the liquor policy in July 2023 following corruption allegations. While questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April of this year regarding the case, Kejriwal has not been named as an accused in the FIR filed by the CBI in August of the previous year. Notably, Senior AAP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, alongside another leader, Sanjay Singh, have been arrested in connection with the same case.
