Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday skipped the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons in connection with an excise policy-linked money laundering case for the third time.
In a letter to Jogender Singh, ED’s Assistant Director, Kejriwal cited his busy schedule due to Rajya Sabha elections and Republic Day celebrations as one of the reasons for not appearing before the anti-corruption agency.
“It is a matter of concern that despite my comprehensive response(s) bringing to your notice critical dimensions and legal objections involved in issuing summons to me in person’, the ED had ‘chosen not to respond’,” he stated.
The chief minister then goes on to say that he is surprised that the ED has once again sent identically worded summons in the same format without giving any response to his earlier replies. “Therefore, I assume that you do not have any valid reason or justification for issuance of these summons,” he added.
Kejriwal said the ED’s silence confirms his “apprehensions about certain vested interests and extraneous as well as malafide considerations prevailing over any objective, rational, fair or impartial inquiry or investigations”.
He also questioned the fact that every time the summons reached him, it was already there in the media and asked whether the purpose of the summons was to do any legitimate enquiry or tarnish his reputation.
On the last two occasions that Kejriwal was summoned by the ED, he had cited the assembly elections, festival season and an earlier declared commitment to a meditation retreat.
This time, the chief minister has cited the Rajya Sabha elections for which nominations start on January 3 and voting is scheduled to happen on January 19. The current terms of three AAP Rajya Sabha MPs are coming to an end and the party will nominate members for the next term.
“Being the National Convenor of AAP, I am held up in the process and run up to these elections,” Kejriwal said. He also said that as chief minister of Delhi, he is quite occupied in planning and preparations for several programmes and functions for the Republic Day.
The Delhi CM said he would be happy to respond to any questionnaire if the ED sought any information/documents which were in his knowledge or possession.
ED Summon ‘Illegal’, Kejriwal Ready to Cooperate: AAP
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the party chief is “ready to cooperate” with the investigations, however, the ED’s notice is “illegal”.
The AAP said that the investigating agency’s intention is to arrest the party chief. “Why has the notice been sent right before elections? The notice is an attempt to stop Kejriwal from campaigning in elections,” the party alleged.
Reacting to the ED summons to Kejriwal, AAP Leader Saurabh Bharadwaj has said that the timing of ED notice is questionable, especially when Lok Sabha elections coming up.
Saying that the entire nation is discussing the federal agency’s summons to the Delhi CM, Bharadwaj added, “Even after repeated questions, it is a mystery that ED has not answered as to in which capacity is Kejriwal being summoned.”
The AAP leader noted that the investigations have been on for one and a half year and the chargesheet has also been filed. Then “Why is Kejriwal being summoned now?” Bharadwaj asked, adding that, ED and the Central government “must answer this”.
“Cooperation with investigative agencies does not mean that we will appear before you and you will arrest us,” the AAP leader said. The party has given all the information to them, he said, adding that their national treasurer has also appeared for questioning.
Delhi Education Minister Atishi reacted to the ED summons and said that the agency has sent an “illegal summon for the third time”.
Atishi asked why the ED is not clarifying the reason behind Kejriwal being summoned.
“We have told clearly that any question that ED may have may be sent to Kejriwal in the form of a questionnaire, but the ED is not doing it,” Atishi said.
“What question does it have that it can’t write it on a piece of paper, that only summons are needed?” she asked, reiterating that, “this shows that summons are illegal.”
OPPOSITION REACTS
Meanwhile, the Opposition slammed Kejriwal for skipping the ED summons. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia even termed Kejriwal to be a “kattar beiman” (staunchly corrupt).
Bhatia said that the AAP chief is running away from the ED’s investigation, adding that Kejriwal should instead join the probe to prove his innocence.
“Only corrupt people have no faith in investigating agencies,” the BJP spokesperson.
Bhatia said that Kejriwal is aware that his arrest is “inevitable”. He also slammed INDIA bloc’s silence on the issue and said that “corruption is the common link that has glued them”.
BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla also reacted to the issue and said that “it has been proved that Arvind Kejriwal is an absconder”.
“AAP is the biggest corrupt party in today’s date,” said Union Minister Anurag Thakur. He said that the AAP chief’s continuous skipping of ED summons “shows that there is something wrong”.
Congress leaders also reacted to Kejriwal skipping the ED summon for the third time. Party leader Rashid Alvi told ANI, “D cannot be trusted but it would have been better if Arvind Kejriwal had gone before the ED. The country was watching what ED would do with them?”
Alvi took note of the fact that if Kejriwal does not appear before the federal agency, then they can “arrest him by issuing a warrant from the court”.
Congress leader Udit Raj noted that the ED is carrying out raids at the associated of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, adding that the agency also sent notices to Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel just before elections. “Arvind Kejriwal is also a part of the opposition alliance…It is true that these agencies are not doing their work but putting pressure on the opposition leaders…,” Raj told ANI.
The third summon, asking Kejriwal to appear before the federal agency on January 3, was issued on December 22.
This notice came after the Delhi CM skipped two earlier summons on November 2 and December 21. Commenting on the fresh summons to Kejriwal, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the summons seem more of political posturing of the Centre than a legal process.
Skipping the December 21 notice, Kejriwal had opted to leave for his Vipassana meditation course. Bharadwaj in a post on X said, “Everyone knows that Hon’ble CM Arvind Kejriwal is in Vipassana. The ED knows well that he can’t be served summons while he is without any communication during 10 days meditation.”
Kejriwal was summoned by the federal agency for questioning in a Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case.
The Delhi CM had responded to the ED summons on December 21, where he mentioned them to be “illegal” and “politically motivated”.
Then again he had said that he was willing to abide by all the legal summons, provided that the illegal ones are withdrawn.
Kejriwal noted that the timing at which he was summoned “strengthens” his belief that they are not based on any “objective criteria” but purely for “propaganda”.
The AAP supremo was first asked to appear before the central agency on November 2, but he skipped it by choosing to campaign in Madhya Pradesh on the same day.
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