Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal responded to the Enforcement Directorate summons and mentioned that they are “illegal”, “politically motivated” adding that they “should be withdrawn”.
He said that he is willing to abide by all the legal summons, however these illegal ones should be withdrawn.
“This ED summon is also illegal like the previous summons,” Kejriwal said in his response.
The AAP chief said that these “politically motivated” summons should be withdrawn. “I have lived my life with honesty and transparency. I have nothing to hide,” Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal noted that the timing at which he was summoned “strengthens” his belief that they are not based on any “objective criteria” but purely for “propaganda”.
He said that the summons were intended to “create sensationalised news in the final few months ahead of the much awaited 2024 Lok Sabha elections”.
Reiterating his earlier stand from his previous letter, he also asked the ED, “You have issued the latest summons without considering and responding to the issues raised in my response dated November 2, 2023.”
The Delhi CM also said he is unaware about the capacity he has being summoned in. “I am not aware in which capacity I am being summoned – as witness or suspect, CM or AAP Convenor?” adding that, “You have chosen not to inform me or provide details of the case.”
Giving the example of Mewa Ram vs State of Rajasthan and Ors, the AAP chief said that the ED summons appear to be a “fishing and roving enquiry”. He added that in such cases, the High Court have declared such summons invalid and quashed them.
Referring to him missing the ED summons, he said that his schedule, about him attending the Vipassana session from December 20, was “publicly known”.
“Your summons are (as I am advised) not in consonance with law,” Kejriwal said in his response.
Kejriwal said that the summons do not indicate what document or information is required of him.
The AAP chief’s response comes after the anti-corruption agency issued fresh summons to him on December 17 in connection with the alleged liquor policy scam. Kejriwal was asked to appear before the agency on December 21.
However, the AAP chief decided to go to the Vipassana session — meditation session — giving a skip to the ED summons for the second time. It is to be noted that Kejriwal’s meditation retreat was pre-scheduled from December 19-30.
Kejriwal was expected to leave for Punjab on Tuesday after the INDIA meet but since he got late in the evening, his departure was postponed for December 20.
The Delhi CM has been an ardent Vipassana practitioner and is known to have made time for the meditative practice almost every year.
This was the second time that Kejriwal gave the ED summons a miss. He was first asked to appear before the central agency on November 2, but he skipped it by choosing to campaign in Madhya Pradesh on the same day.
He challenged the summons, asking for them to be withdrawn. In his letter to the ED, he termed the summons “vague and unsubstantiated”, “politically motivated” and had asked for clarity on the reasons for which he had been summoned.
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