Delhi Liquor policy case: CM Arvind Kejriwal responds to ED summon, says, ‘illegal like previous…’

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has sent his reply to the ED summons, calling them illegal like the previous summon issued by the agency. The Delhi CM has called on the ED to withdraw the summon as it is politically motivated.

He said, “This ED summon is also illegal like the previous summon issued by the agency. ED should withdraw this summon as it is politically motivated. I have lived my life with honesty and transparency. I have nothing to hide.”

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The ED has summoned Kejriwal for questioning in the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case today i.e. on 21 December. However on Wednesday, he left for an undisclosed location for a 10-day Vipassana meditation course.

Earlier, he was scheduled to leave for the Vipassana course on Tuesday but could not do so as he was busy with the INDIA bloc meeting. But on Wednesday, he left at around 1.30 pm for the pre-scheduled meditation course, officials said as reported by news agency PTI.

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On Tuesday, the AAP questioned the timing of the summons, saying the party's lawyers are studying the notice and "legally correct" steps will be taken. They said Kejriwal's Vipassana session was "pre-scheduled" and the information was in the public domain.

Prior to this, Kejriwal was first called by the ED on November 2 but he did not depose before the agency, saying the summons were "vague, motivated and unsustainable in law". He, instead, decided to hold an election roadshow in Madhya Pradesh ahead of the polls.

Meanwhile, it is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the case, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.

(With agency inputs)