New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal brought a motion of confidence in the Delhi Assembly Friday amid fears of his arrest after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summoned him for the sixth time in connection with the liquor policy scam of 2021-22.
The proceedings of the House will take place Saturday after it is taken up for discussion.
In the Assembly Friday, Kejriwal accused the BJP-led Centre of breaking parties and toppling governments in other states in “false cases”. “They want to use this alleged liquor scam as an excuse to arrest AAP leaders and overturn the Delhi government in any which way. They know they can never win the Delhi elections in their lifetime,” he said.
The chief minister said that he was blessed with the people’s trust. “We want to show that all our MLAs are with us,” he said, before moving the motion of confidence on his government.
#WATCH | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says, "We can see that parties are being broken & governments are being toppled in other states by slapping false cases. In Delhi, they intend to arrest AAP leaders under the pretext of liquor policy case. They want to topple the Delhi Government… https://t.co/vuJF4CK7qG pic.twitter.com/trbjaxxPLn
— ANI (@ANI) February 16, 2024
The ED’s latest summons came Wednesday. Kejriwal has been asked to appear before the central agency on 19 February.
The ED had approached a Delhi court after Kejriwal skipped five previous summons, following which the court asked him to appear before it Saturday, noting prima facie that the 55-year-old politician was “legally bound” to comply.
In its complaint, the ED claimed Kejriwal was summoned for interrogation to allegedly unearth the role of others, including him, and to trace further proceeds of crime in the ongoing investigation. It added that the Delhi CM was intentionally disobeying the summons.
Kejriwal has maintained that these notices were “illegal”.
Previous summons
The AAP leader was earlier called on 2 November and 21 December in 2023, and then on 3 and 18 January and 2 February this year.
Kejriwal’s name has come up several times in charge sheets filed by the ED. The agency has also said the accused were in touch with him while preparing the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy of 2021-22.
AAP leader and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and MP Sanjay Singh, apart from communications in-charge of the party Vijay Nair and several businessmen, have been arrested in this case by the ED so far.
The central agency has alleged that the party had used the “proceeds of crime”, around Rs 45 crore, in its Goa election campaign.
The agency is also expected to file a fresh supplementary chargesheet and may name the AAP as a “beneficiary” of the alleged kickbacks that were generated through the excise policy, news agency PTI reported.
It is alleged the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had paid bribes for it, a charge vehemently denied by the AAP.
The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lieutenant Governor V.K. Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
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