According to reports, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him to discuss a corruption investigation surrounding the now-cancelled Delhi liquor program for 2021–2022.
Recall that on Thursday, Kejriwal disregarded the ED’s summons, citing it as “politically motivated.”
Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, two more AAP leaders, are incarcerated in relation to the issue at hand.
Why is this story important?
Leaders of the AAP have voiced concern that Kejriwal could be detained by the ED in an attempt by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre to destroy the opposition ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
According to reports, Kejriwal also summoned a conference to discuss the growing actions of central inquiry agencies against party officials.
According to an earlier report by The Times of India, all 62 of the AAP’s MLAs in the nation’s capital were anticipated to attend the meeting in the assembly complex in Delhi.
In the instance of the Delhi liquor policy, prior arrests and interrogations
Although Kejriwal has reaffirmed that the BJP handed him the summons, this is not the first time he has been called in relation to the case.
He was questioned for nine hours by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April.
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Singh was detained in October, and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia was taken into custody in February.
The purported Delhi excise policy scam is being looked into independently by the ED and CBI.
Delhi excise laws and cases involving money laundering
According to the investigative agencies, the November 2021–July 2022 Delhi Excise Policy, which was later repealed, encouraged cartelization by giving permissions to players who were not eligible in exchange for payments, which were then used to support the AAP’s Goa election campaign.
The AAP has refuted the claims, claiming that the proposal would have raised income.
Although Kejriwal’s administration has denied money laundering, the Supreme Court previously pointed out that a provisional money trail totaling Rs. 338 crore was found in the case.
Additional case details; another AAP leader was raided
Based on a July 2022 report by Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar, Lieutenant Governor (L-G) VK Saxena suspected procedural flaws in the excise policy development and filed a case about the alleged liquor fraud.
A number of BJP officials had already declared that Kejriwal’s arrest in the matter was going to happen soon.
Separately, the party expressed disapproval after the ED raided the home of AAP MLA and Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand last week in connection with a money laundering case involving customs.