Amid speculation about his possible arrest by the Enforcement Directorate following his repeated refusal to appear before them, AAP convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Thursday that the ED’s repeated summons in the alleged liquor scam, just before the upcoming Lok Sabha poll, are an attempt to hinder his campaigning. This is despite the ongoing
two-year investigation into the matter. The Delhi CM emphasised that his honesty is his biggest asset, and the BJP wants to tarnish his honesty with fake cases. AAP convener issued a video message amid intense speculation that he would be arrested in connection with the alleged liquor scam.
“For the last two years, you have heard the words ‘sharab ghotala’ several times. There have been multiple raids in connection, but agencies didn’t find a single rupee. Where did the money go? Did it just vanish into thin air? The truth is there has been no corruption,” Kejriwal said in a video message a day after skipping the third summons of the ED.
Meanwhile, the AAP also announced that Kejriwal will leave for a three-day tour of Gujarat on Saturday in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. AAP sources said Kejriwal’s Gujarat visit was part of a tour related to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. Jan Sabhas and party events are on the AAP convener’s agenda, said sources, adding that the AAP convener will address public meetings and party workers during his election tour.
The announcement came a day after Kejriwal skipped the third summons issued to him by the ED for questioning related to the alleged excise scam. Notably, many AAP leaders, including Delhi Ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, and Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, late on Wednesday, cited sources and said that the ED is likely to raid and arrest their chief. Several AAP workers also gathered outside Kejriwal’s residence this morning, anticipating ED action. On the other hand, the ED has declined the claim and termed the reports of raids at Arvind Kejriwal’s residence as ‘nothing but rumors.’ Officials said they are examining the letter and will summon Kejriwal once again.
“Many AAP leaders have been falsely implicated in this connection, and they are languishing in jail while there is no evidence against them. Now, the BJP wants to arrest me. My biggest strength is my honesty. They want to defame me, hurt my image with false accusations,” Kejriwal said. Speaking on the summons, Kejriwal mentioned that his lawyers told him that the summonses were illegal.
“I wrote in detail why their summonses were illegal. But they did not reply because they had no reply. Should I follow illegal summonses? I will cooperate if a legal summons is sent to me,” Kejriwal said.
“The BJP has nothing to investigate. They just want to stop me from campaigning in the Lok Sabha election. Otherwise, why would they summon me just ahead of the elections? The investigation has been going on for two years. The CBI called me eight months ago. Didn’t I attend that? I provided all the answers to whatever the CBI asked. But they just want to arrest me on the pretext of summoning me,” Kejriwal added. “My lawyers have told me that the ED summons are illegal. The BJP wants to arrest me to stop me from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls,” said Kejriwal, adding that he has written to the ED thrice, saying their summonses are “illegal” but has not received any response.
“They haven’t replied because they know that their summonses are illegal. Should I follow illegal summonses? If legally sound summonses are issued, I will follow them. My greatest wealth is my honesty. They want to break me by tarnishing my image,” he said. Alleging that the summons were being issued at the behest of the BJP with an intention to stop him from campaigning in the forthcoming Lok Sabha poll, Kejriwal said, “If a legally correct summons comes, he will fully cooperate. The BJP’s objective is not to investigate; their objective is to stop me from campaigning in the Lok Sabha elections. Just before the Lok Sabha elections, they have sent me a summons. ED is calling me just two months before the election, which proves that they have no investigation in mind. The BJP is using ED and CBI to poach leaders from other parties. There is more than one instance of how leaders who join the BJP immediately get a clean chit. Today, Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, and Sanjay Singh are in jail not because they indulged in corruption, but because they refused to join the BJP. Had we done something wrong, we would have joined the BJP by now,” Kejriwal said.
Appealing to the countrymen to stand by him in this hour of crisis, he said, “The country cannot move forward by putting honest leaders in jail and allowing corrupt people to join their party. What’s going on? Whatever is going on is very dangerous. This is very bad for our democracy; it must be stopped. I have always fought for the country. My body, mind, and resources are for the country, every breath of mine is for the country, every drop of my blood is for the country, each cell of my body is dedicated to the country. We must save the country together. I am fighting against them with all my might; I need your support.”
Earlier, security around Kejriwal’s residence was beefed up on Wednesday night. The Delhi Police, however, said the security around the CM’s house was beefed up to “manage” media persons who have gathered there since Wednesday after party leaders claimed that Kejriwal would be raided and arrested. “The roads leading to the CM’s house have been shut, and police personnel are deployed at all the entry/exit gates. Even the staff deployed at the CM’s house has been stopped from entering,” an AAP source said. “The ED is gearing up to raid and arrest Kejriwal,” another source from the party said. Delhi cabinet minister and AAP leader Atishi on Wednesday night said on X, “News coming in that ED is going to raid Arvind Kejriwal’s residence tomorrow morning. Arrest likely.”
