"ED is political tool of BJP...": Delhi Minister Atishi on fresh plea by Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi HC

New Delhi [India], March 21 : Following Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's fresh plea in Delhi High Court seeking no coercive action against him in connection with the excise policy case, the Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday asserted that the Enforcement Directorate is a "political tool" of the Bharatiya Janata Party, adding that ED is being used to "finish the opposition."
Speaking to ANI, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Atishi said that ED had summons Kejriwal not to be a part of the investigation but to arrest him.
"It is very clear that ED is no more an independent investigating agency. ED is a political tool of the BJP. Today, ED is being used to finish the Opposition. ED is not summoning Arvind Kejriwal to be a part of the investigation but to arrest him - so that he can't campaign in elections...Had arrest not been their goal, they could have said so before the court," Atishi said.
Meanwhile, Delhi Minister and AAP leader Gopal Rai said that they had approached the court for relief against the BJP's intentions that it wants to fulfil through the ED.
"It has been clear since the first day that ED is not bothered about questioning. Questioning has been going on for the last two years, raids have taken place at thousands of locations but they have no evidence till date. Repeated summons are being sent so that Arvind Kejriwal can be arrested in one way or the other," Rai said.
"A plea has been moved before the Court for no coercive action. We were also willing to respect the law and join the investigation. But we approached the court for relief against the BJP's intentions that it wants to fulfill through the ED," he added.
Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Harish Khurana slammed Delhi Chief Minister for moving a fresh plea in Delhi High Court seeking no coercive action against him and said that the way the AAP chief is running away clearly shows that he is "hiding" something.
"The Delhi CM is again evading the ED's summons. (Arvind Kejriwal) Why are you running from the government, only you know that. You are disrespecting the law. You are not above the law. Kindly respect the law and order. The way you are running away clearly shows that you are hiding something," Khurana said in self-made video.
The BJP leader urged the Delhi Chief Minister to respect the law and order, adding that he is not above the law.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Prakash Reddy said that BRS party and Aam Aadmi Party will be exposed by the ED in the Delhi liqour scam.
"In Delhi Excise policy scam case now Kavitha is under ED control. However, Kejriwal the Chief Minister of Delhi is again not attending the ED summons and still he is claiming his position before the court. However the total transiction between the BRS party and Aam Aadmi Party will be exposed through ED very shortly," Prakash Reddy told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Division Bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, will hear the plea moved by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate has issued 9 summons to the Delhi CM in the Excise case till now.
On Wednesday, during the hearing in the related matter before the Delhi High Court, Kejriwal's lawyers stated that they have apprehension that the ED will arrest him and he is ready to appear if he is given protection.
According to the ED's last summons in the Excise Case, the financial probe agency has called him to appear before it on March 21, 2024.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sought the response of the ED on a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging the summons issued to him in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
Kejriwal, through plea has sought, the declaration of section (2) (s) of PMLA to be ultra vires, unconstitutional and arbitrary insofar to the extent that it is construed to include a political party within its ambit and sweep.
The investigation in the present matter has been going on since August 22, 2022, i.e., for the last one and a half years and after the investigation, as many as 6 prosecution complaints with thousands of documents have been filed.
Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by ED for non-compliance with summons issued by the agency. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.
The now-scrapped excise policy was aimed "at revitalizing the city's flagging liquor business" and replacing a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee for traders.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the policy. AAP has accused Saxena's predecessor, Anil Baijal, of sabotaging the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.