Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped for the sixth time the summons from the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in the case about the now-scrapped liquor policy, reported PTI.
The Aam Aadmi Party described the central agency’s action as illegal and urged the Enforcement Directorate to stop sending summons to the chief minister, reported The Hindu.
The agency should wait for the court’s decision on the matter before issuing any fresh summons, Kejriwal told reporters on Monday. On February 3, the central agency had moved a Delhi court after Kejriwal skipped the summons for the fifth time.
On Saturday, he had appeared before a Delhi court via video conference after he was summoned for the sixth time by the agency in the case. The Aam Aadmi Party chief submitted that he could not appear physically before the court because of the trust vote motion tabled in the Assembly and the Budget Session.
The court exempted him from appearing physically and listed the matter for hearing on March 16.
On Saturday, the Aam Aadmi Party government won the trust vote moved by Kejriwal in the Assembly.
A total of 54 out of 62 Aam Aadmi Party MLAs were in attendance during the voting in the 70-member Assembly. The Opposition BJP has eight MLAs, seven of whom are currently suspended.
On Kejriwal skipping the Enforcement Directorate’s summons for the sixth time, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party secretary Harish Khurana said that the Delhi chief minister had no respect for the law, the Hindustan Times reported.
“He should remember that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren evaded 10 summons and even went to court but was arrested because he could not answer the Enforcement Directorate’s questions,” Khurana said.
Kejriwal will also have to answer the agency’s questions in the liquor policy case, he added.
Liquor policy case
The Enforcement Directorate’s case is based on a first information report registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation alleging irregularities in the Delhi government’s now-scrapped excise policy.
The Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate have alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party government modified the liquor excise policy to ensure a 12% profit margin for wholesalers and a nearly 185% profit margin for retailers.
The Enforcement Directorate has also claimed that members of a so-called South Group had paid at least Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party through businessman Vijay Nair.
Two senior Aam Aadmi Party leaders – Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are currently in jail in connection with the case. Kejriwal has skipped five summons by the Enforcement Directorate.
Also read: A ‘liquor scam’ has put AAP leaders in jail. But has it dented the party’s image in Delhi?
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