Kejriwal boycotts ED questioning

NT Correspondent

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday did not appear before the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy and wrote to the Central agency demanding the "recall" of its summons to him, calling it "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law".

The reply of the CM is being examined by the ED, official sources said and indicated that a fresh date for Kejriwal could be issued soon.

The central agency had summoned Kejriwal for questioning in the alleged Delhi excise policy case and to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA.

Kejriwal's party colleagues Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case. The Delhi Chief Minister's Office said that in reply to the probe agency's notice, Kejriwal has alleged that the summons were "illegal, politically motivated" and aimed at preventing him from campaigning in the poll-bound states.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal travelled to Madhya Pradesh's Singrauli where he took part in a roadshow along with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

As per the PMLA, a person can ignore an ED summons three times and after that, the ED has the option of seeking a non-bailable warrant (NBW) from a court. The chief minister also claimed that the notice appeared to be motivated.

"Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, 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," Kejriwal charged.

Kejriwal said he is the CM of Delhi as well as the national convenor of the AAP and is required to travel as a "star campaigner" to Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana where Assembly polls are due.