The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP-led government of India on Wednesday of plotting to arrest Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to hinder his participation in campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls.
Kejriwal, summoned for the third time by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case, opted to skip the appearance and instead sent a written reply, labeling the notice as illegal, PTI reported.
Atishi, a leader of AAP and a minister in the Delhi cabinet, characterised the summons as a politically motivated vendetta.
She highlighted that the ED has not addressed Kejriwal’s repeated written requests seeking clarification on the purpose of his questioning, the news agency reported.
Arvind Kejriwal has consistently sought clarification from the ED regarding the capacity in which he is being summoned and has requested that all inquiries be presented in the form of a questionnaire, to which he will respond accordingly, Atishi stated.
She said that the AAP is not intimidated by such summons and criticised the ED and the CBI for becoming tools in the hands of the BJP to target opposition leaders.
Echoing these sentiments, Saurabh Bharadwaj, another AAP leader and Delhi minister, questioned the timing of the ED summons and emphasised that the entire excise policy case is politically motivated. He alleged a conspiracy by the BJP-led GoI to arrest Kejriwal and obstruct his involvement in Lok Sabha poll campaigns.
Bharadwaj further asserted that while opposition leaders face threats of arrests and inquiries by the ED and CBI, those from the BJP do not encounter any actions against them. He also expressed confidence that Manish Sisodia, the former Delhi deputy chief minister currently in jail, will be proven innocent in due course.
Kejriwal, who was required to appear before the ED on Wednesday, had previously refused to comply with two summonses issued on November 2 and December 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the excise policy.
