The BJP on Thursday took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and said “accountability and Arvind can’t travel together”, after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief skipped the summons sent to him by probe agency Enforcement Directorate in connection with the money laundering case pertaining to the now-scrapped excise policy.
“Kejriwal and Kartavya will never work together,” said BJP leader Sambit Patra at a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
Arvind Kejriwal left for a 10-day Vipassana meditation camp, skipping the second summons from the Enforcement Directorate in the liquor policy scam case.
Attacking the AAP supremo for skipping the ED summons, the BJP leader said, “Kejriwal is trying to hide behind Vipassana. Kusashana and Vipassana can never travel together.”
Calling Kejriwal “liquorgate kingpin”, Patra said, “He should have delayed the camp but he fears he might get arrested.”
“We are not saying that you might be arrested but your ministers Saurabh Bhardwaj and Atishi Marlena said it,” said the BJP leader on Kejriwal’s charges that the party leaders claimed he would be arrested.
The BJP leader accused him of running away from ED summons.
The Delhi Chief Minister was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in connection with the money laundering case pertaining to the now-scrapped excise policy. He was asked to appear before the agency today, December 21. This was the second summons by the Enforcement Directorate to Arvind Kejriwal.
KEJRIWAL'S REPLY TO ED SUMMONS
In his reply to ED, the Delhi Chief Minister said, “The timing of your summons leaves much to desire and strengthens my belief that the summons being sent to me are not based upon any objective or rational yardstick but purely as a propaganda as well as to create sensational news in the final few months of much awaited parliamentary elections in the country.”
“The said summons appear to be motivated and issued for extraneous considerations. Simultaneous to the summons, on the afternoon of October 30, 2023, BJP leaders started making statements that soon I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons. It is thus apparent that the said summons was leaked to select BJP leaders to malign my image and reputation and has been issued at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre,” he added.
Last month, the financial watchdog had asked Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on November 2. However, the Aam Aadmi Party chief had skipped the summons, alleging that it was illegal and politically motivated.
The summons to Kejriwal, the national convenor of AAP, pertains to questioning in the alleged Delhi excise policy case and for recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Two of Arvind Kejriwal's party leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, were arrested by the central probe agencies in connection with the same case.
Arvind Kejriwal was also questioned by the CBI in connection with the alleged liquor scam in April this year.
