Delhi liquor policy case: Kejriwal avoiding ED shows he is guilty, says BJP

New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) The BJP on Thursday hit out at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for skipping the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) summons in connection with the liquor policy scam case.

Addressing a press conference, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra asked why is the Chief Minister evading the ED probe if he is innocent.

Terming Kejriwal "corrupt and shameless", Patra said, "Why is he running away from agencies who are probing the case if he is innocent? ED doesn't send random summons. It only sends summons based on facts," Patra said.

"We trust that ED has only summoned him based on facts. This is a serious issue. AAP and Kejriwal have no trust in the ED, the Government, the CBI, the ECI, and the people of this country, but at least they can respect the Supreme Court," he added.

Referring to the Supreme Court judgment in Manish Sisodia's bail plea case, the BJP leader said that the top court has made a statement that around Rs 338 crore trail has been tentatively established in Sisodia's bail plea.

If the tip of the iceberg is so big, then how big the actual scam will be, Patra stated.

"I am surprised that this is the same Kejriwal who used to raise his voice against Sheila Dixit, Robert Vadhra, Sonia Gandhi, Lalu Prasad in press conferences when he was not part of a political party. Now he is making alliances with the same people." he said.

"Are you God that no agency can summon you? Patra asked Kejriwal. If Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are not corrupt then why did they not get bail from the court? he wondered.

The BJP Spokesman further accused Kejriwal and AAP of deliberately delaying ED's probe as the top court has said in its judgment that Sisodia can apply again for bail in three months if the probe is slow.

In his official response to the ED summons this morning, Kejriwal expressed his concerns regarding the lack of clarity about the capacity in which he was being summoned, whether as a witness or a suspect in the case.

The Chief Minister's response to the summons, dated October 30, reads, "The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. The said summons fails to provide details in relation to the File bearing F. No. ECIR/HIUII/14/2022 or the reason that I have been summoned therein, or any details thereof," he further stated.

Furthermore, Kejriwal expressed his concerns about the nature of the summons, stating, "The said summons does not specify whether I am being summoned as an individual or in my official capacity as Chief Minister of Delhi or as national convenor of AAP and appears to be in the nature of a fishing and roving inquiry."

"The said summons appears to be motivated and issued for extraneous considerations. Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, BJP leaders started making statements that I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons,” he alleged.

The central agency is likely to issue fresh summons to Kejriwal who is currently campaigning in Madhya Pradesh for upcoming Assembly elections.