Edited by Deepali Verma
In the wake of Arvind Kejriwal’s non-appearance before the Enforcement Directorate or ED, despite repeated summons, several BJP leaders have questioned the motive behind the Delhi Chief Minister’s absence. “What is it that scares Arvind Kejriwal? Has he abandoned his ministers Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, who continue to be in jail in the Liquor Excise scam. Instead of skipping the ED summons, Kejriwal should take lessons in corruption from I.N.D.I.A Alliance leaders, who can also enrich themselves with his experience…” tweeted the BJP leader as he questioned why Kejriwal was not moving the court if he found the ED summons illegal.
Kejriwal skipped the first summons of ED on November 2 owing to administrative duties commitments in Delhi ahead of Diwali and election campaigning in Madhya Pradesh. The next summons was scheduled on December 21 but Kejriwal left for his vipassana a day before. On December 3, Kejriwal wrote to ED to inform them that he was busy with the Rajya Sabha elections but he was eager to answer the questionnaire if they sent it. Kejriwal said the agency did not respond to his earlier letters where he sought to know more on the context on why he was being summoned.
Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP ministers, tweeted late on the night of January 3 that they hold information of a potential ED raid at Kejriwal’s residence in the morning of January 4 and that the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be arrested.
“News coming in that ED will raid @ArvindKejriwal’s residence tomorrow morning. Arrest likely,” Atishi made a post on X at 11.50pm on January 3.
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj posted a similar update on X in Hindi after two minutes.
The late-night claims surfaced in the wake of Kejriwal skipping the ED summons for the third time in connection with the alleged liquor scam calling the summons illegal that triggered sharp responses from the BJP.
“Being the Chief Minister of Delhi, I am preoccupied in planning and preparing for several programmes and functions for the Republic Day i.e., 26th January 2024,” Kejriwal wrote in his latest reply to the ED summons.
The second phase of the Main Bhi Kejriwal campaign will commence on January 4 after the party reached out to 2.4 million households in the national capital to seek feedback on whether Kejriwal should resign if he is arrested or whether he should continue to run the government from jail. The party revealed that the public has unequivocally said that Kejriwal should not resign.
