The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on December 21, for questioning in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
The summon from the federal law enforcement agency comes a couple of days after Kejriwal announced that he would be taking a break from December 19 to attend a 10-day ‘Vipassana’ meditation programme. The location where he intended to travel for the course was not disclosed by him in the statement shared on social media.
This is the second time when the financial watchdog has sought Kejriwal's appearance in connection with the ongoing probe into the now-scrapped liquor policy of the Delhi government. The agency had earlier summoned him on November 2.
Kejriwal’s two former cabinet colleagues — ex-deputy CM Manish Sisodia and ex-health minister Satyendar Jain — are already lodged behind the bars in connection to the case since March 2023 and May 2022, respectively. Senior AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was also arrested by the agency in October.
A court in the national capital, last week, extended Sisodia’s judicial custody till January 10 in a money laundering case related to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.
The ED and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is also probing the case, have alleged that the new policy resulted in cartelisation and those ineligible for liquor licences were favoured for monetary benefits. However, the Delhi government has denied any wrongdoing and said the new policy would have led to an increase in revenue.
Article source: moneycontrol.com
