New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, summoned by the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor policy case under which many Delhi ministers and leaders have been held, has said that the notice to him is “illegal and politically motivated” and “sent at the behest of the BJP.”
Kejriwal was asked to appear today, November 2, at 11 am. Speculation, so far focusing on whether the chief minister will be arrested, had been rife on whether he would give the summons a miss. It is now being reported by Indian Express that he has skipped the summons for a roadshow in pollbound Madhya Pradesh.
“The notice was sent at the behest of the [Bharatiya Janata Party],” the news agency ANI reported Kejriwal as having said.
He added that the notice was aimed at affecting his campaign plans: “Notice was sent to ensure that I am unable to go for election campaigning in four states. ED should withdraw the notice immediately.”
Meanwhile, Indian Express has also reported that multiple teams of the ED are conducting searches in 10 locations, including at the house of another AAP minister Raaj Kumar Anand who looks after the social welfare portfolio.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is in power at the Union while Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party is in power in Delhi. Three senior AAP leaders – Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Vijay Nair – are already in prison in connection with the case.