ED issues fresh summons to Delhi CM; AAP calls "fake", BJP says, "Kejriwal setting wrong precedent"

New Delhi [India], March 17 : The Enforcement Directorate on Sunday issued two fresh summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection to two different cases -- a liquor policy case and a case linked to the Delhi Jal Board.
Reacting to it, AAP leader and Delhi Minister Atishi claimed that the case is 'fake', whereas the BJP leaders said that Kejriwal is "setting the wrong precedent" to skip the summons.
"Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal received another summons by the ED...They have asked him to join some investigations related to the Delhi Jal Board. We are unaware of the case registered by the ED in this matter," Atishi said.
Further launching an attack on the Centre, Atishi said, "The Prime Minister is concerned about one thing, which is, by some means or another, putting Arvind Kejriwal in jail before the elections. The ED and CBI have only one objective. As soon as the court process started, another summons was sent to Arvind Kejriwal yesterday evening. Summons have been sent in a fake case," she added.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suryabanshi Suraj has hit out at Kejriwal for skipping the ED summons and said that the latter is "setting the wrong precedent" to skip the past summons.
"Every time Arvind Kejriwal has given an excuse and did not present himself before the ED. He is disobeying the law, it doesn't send a good message to the people. I hope that he'll present himself before the ED, this time, and will tell the people that he hasn't done any wrong thing. He is setting the wrong precedent..." he said.
Congress MP Rajmain Patel said that the summons issued to the Delhi CM is an attempt to suppress the voice of the opposition.
Coming down heavily on the BJP-led central government, the Congress leader said, "This is an attempt to suppress the voice of opposition. They (BJP) want nobody to raise their voice for the truth. If the same person joins the BJP, then he/she becomes clean. Those who are corrupt, are talking about honesty today."
This comes as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued the ninth summons to Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case, asking him to join the investigation on March 21
The fresh summons to the Delhi Chief Minister followed the eighth summons, which he had skipped on March 4.
ED's move comes a day after Kejriwal first appeared before the city's Rouse Avenue Court physically on Saturday in connection with the case, as the agency earlier filed two complaints against him in court complaining of disobeying their summons to join the probe in the Delhi excise policy case. The court later granted him bail in the case filed by the agency for skipping its summons.
Kejriwal got bail on a bail bond of Rs 15,000 in the case of complaints filed by the ED. He is on bail and has been asked by the court to respond to the ED summons and obey the law. The court directed the Dehi Chief Minister that following the law is appropriate for a person who has taken the oath of the Constitution.
Speaking on the Delhi CM's bail on the money laundering case, Atishi said, "Yesterday Arvind Kejriwal went to court. Gave a reply to all BJP leaders. BJP was saying again and again that Arvind Kejriwal was running away. Kejriwal got bail yesterday. The legal process has begun. Now the court will examine whether the summons sent by ED are legal or not. ED and CBI are Modi Ji's goons. Modi's goons have targeted opposition leaders."
Kejriwal has so far skipped eight previous summons issued by the ED on March 4, February 26, February 19, February 2, January 18, January 3, November 2 and on December 22, calling them "illegal and politically motivated."
The ED wants to record Kejriwal's statement in the case on issues like formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalised, and allegations of bribery.
While skipping the eighth summons issued by the ED, AAP, in a statement, termed it "illegal," saying that the ED should stop sending summons and wait for the court's decision as the probe agency has already approached the court on the matter.
A day after Kejriwal skipped the fifth summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate, the agency on February 3 approached a Delhi court against him for the first time for "non-compliance with the summons."
The case alleging multiple irregularities in the formation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy (2021-22) by the Central Bureau of Investigation. The policy was withdrawn after allegations of corruption.
In its sixth charge-sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023, naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, the ED claimed that the AAP used kickbacks worth Rs 45 crore generated via the policy as part of its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
On Kejriwal's role, one of the six charge sheets filed in January 2023 states that Kejriwal told businessman Sameer Mahendru that former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair "is his boy" and that he should trust him.
The excise policy was aimed to revitalise the city's flagging liquor business and replace a sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders. It promised swankier stores and a better buying experience. The policy introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor for the first time in Delhi.
Lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar Saxena's move to order a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime prompted the scrapping of the policy. The 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 already under 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 and on October 5, the ED arrested Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member.