After he failed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned for the fourth time in less than three months by the agency for questioning on January 18 in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, official sources said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the ED summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for the eighth time in connection with the “illegal mining case”, sources told a news agency on Saturday. According to the report, the ED asked Soren to appear before the agency between January 16 and 20.
The 55-year-old Aam Aadmi Party convener had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations.
He 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”.
By issuing the fresh notice, the ED has again rejected Kejriwal’s contention that the summonses issued to him were “not in consonance with the law” and hence should be withdrawn.
AAP alleged the BJP is “misusing” the ED to stop Kejriwal from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls as it raised the issue of the timing of the summons, noting that Kejriwal is scheduled to visit Goa from January 18 to interact with party leaders and volunteers.
The ED had earlier issued summons to Soren’s press adviser Abhishek Prasad, asking him to join its investigation on January 16 into an alleged money laundering probe linked to an illegal mining case. The probe agency had also summoned Ramnivas Yadav, Deputy Commissioner of Sahibganj, on January 11.