Kejriwal Refuses Third ED Summons, AAP Cries Foul, Claims Politics at Play
Delhi CM terms excise policy investigation a "political ploy", alleges BJP trying to prevent Lok Sabha participation
Leader of the AAP and minister for Delhi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, charged on Wednesday that the BJP-led Centre was planning to arrest Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in order to prevent him from participating in the Lok Sabha election campaign.
In a written response on Wednesday, Kejriwal rejected the third summons that the ED had issued in the Delhi excise policy case, claiming that the notice was unlawful.
Bharadwaj questioned the timing of the Enforcement Directorate summons during a press conference.
"The ED has still not responded when asked if he is being called as a witness or an accused person. The whole excise policy case is a political ploy to prevent Kejriwal from running in the Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that a plot to have him arrested had been hatched by the BJP-led Centre.
Manish Sisodia, the former deputy chief minister of Delhi who has been imprisoned for almost a year, will eventually be shown not guilty, according to Bharadwaj.
Kejriwal was summoned by the ED on Wednesday to answer questions regarding a money laundering case involving excise policies.
Kejriwal, who is also the convener of the AAP, received three ED notices in a row after he turned down two previous summonses from the federal agency for November 2 and December 21.
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