Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal is likely to skip the fourth summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today (Thursday, January 18), for questioning in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, according to party sources.
Kejriwal, who had previously skipped three summons by the probe agency, is scheduled to leave for Goa today, for a three-day tour to take stock of AAP’s preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
KEJRIWAL’S GOA TOUR
Earlier, Kejriwal was supposed to embark on a two-day tour of Goa on January 11 but had to postpone it due to preparations for the Republic Day programme in the national capital.
Kejriwal, along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak will now be in Goa from January 18 till January 20, according to AAP’s Goa chief Amit Palekar.
As per Palekar, the senior AAP leaders will meet the party’s MLAs in the coastal state and other state functionaries and volunteers during their visit, which comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
AAP has two MLAs in the Goa assembly – Venzy Viegas (Benaulim) and Cruz Silva (Velim).
ED’S 4TH SUMMONS TO KEJRIWAL
Kejriwal was issued the ED summons last week for the fourth time and asked to appear before the agency on January 18.
When asked about the ED summons asking him to appear on Thursday, the AAP national convener said, “We will do whatever needs to be done according to the law.”
On Wednesday, Delhi cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj echoed similar views.
“He is clear that whatever he will do he will do in accordance with the law and the advice of the legal counsel,” he told news agency PTI.
The 55-year-old leader had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations.
Kejriwal had also questioned the motive behind the ED’s actions, citing legal “objections” to the summons and accusing the agency of assuming the role of “judge, jury and executioner”.
Reacting to the ED summons, AAP leader and Delhi cabinet minister Gopal Rai had alleged that the BJP is “misusing” the ED to stop Kejriwal from campaigning for Lok Sabha polls.
ED’s fourth summons on January 13 came a day after AAP announced Kejriwal’s three-day Goa tour, leading to Rai accusing the central agency of issuing its power in a bid to stop the Delhi CM from campaigning.
WHY ED SUMMONED THE DELHI CM?
The AAP convener has skipped three previous summons by ED— on November 2, December 22, and January 3 — calling them “illegal and politically motivated”.
However, the agency, according to the sources, believes that the summonses sent to Kejriwal were “well within the PMLA procedures and law”.
ED has said it wants to question the Delhi Chief Minister on the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery.
Kejriwal’s name has been mentioned multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the case.