New Delhi [India], March 21 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party leader Harish Khurana on Thursday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for moving a fresh plea in Delhi High Court seeking no coercive action against him in connection with the excise policy case and said that the way the AAP chief is running away clearly shows that he is "hiding" something.
Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal moved a fresh plea in the Delhi High Court seeking no coercive action against him in connection with the Excise policy case.
"The Delhi CM is again evading the ED's summons. (Arvind Kejriwal) Why are you running from the government, only you know that. You are disrespecting the law. You are not above the law. Kindly respect the law and order. The way you are running away clearly shows that you are hiding something," BJP leader Harish Khurana said in self-made video.
The BJP leader urged the Delhi Chief Minister to respect the law and order, adding that he is not above the law.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Prakash Reddy said that BRS party and Aam Aadmi Party will be exposed by the ED in the Delhi liqour scam.
"In Delhi Excise policy scam case now Kavitha is under ED control. However, Kejriwal the Chief Minister of Delhi is again not attending the ED summons and still he is claiming his position before the court. However the total transiction between the BRS party and Aam Aadmi Party will be exposed through ED very shortly," Prakash Reddy told ANI.
Meanwhile, the Division Bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, will hear the plea moved by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. The Enforcement Directorate has issued 9 summons to the Delhi CM in the Excise case till now.
On Wednesday, during the hearing in the related matter before the Delhi High Court, Kejriwal's lawyers stated that they have apprehension that the ED will arrest him and he is ready to appear if he is given protection.
According to the ED's last summons in the Excise Case, the financial probe agency has called him to appear before it on March 21, 2024.
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court sought the response of the ED on a plea filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging the summons issued to him in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.
During the hearing, the bench asked the Kejriwal's lawyers, "Why don't you appear before the Enforcement Directorate?"
In the reply, senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh were also arrested by the agency. We have an apprehension that ED will arrest him, but he is ready to appear if he is given protection.
Kejriwal, through plea has sought, the declaration of section (2) (s) of PMLA to be ultra vires, unconstitutional and arbitrary insofar to the extent that it is construed to include a political party within its ambit and sweep.
Delhi CM plea further stated that the present petition is being filed in extremely urgent and emergent circumstances where such arbitrary procedure under PMLA is sought to be employed to create a non-level playing field for the impending general elections scheduled to be held from April 19, 2024, and to skew the electoral process in the favour of the ruling party at the centre that controls the ED through the Ministry of Finance.
"That said, action is being taken given the petitioner's role as a vocal critic of the ruling party and his role as an opposition leader and partner of the INDIA alliance contesting the general election to be held next year," the plea stated.
The plea further stated that it is the case of the petitioner that the said impugned summons dated February 26, 2024, and March 16, 2024, were sent to the petitioner with an oblique motive to arrest the petitioner (Kejriwal).
The investigation in the present matter has been going on since August 22, 2022, i.e., for the last one and a half years and after the investigation, as many as 6 prosecution complaints with thousands of documents have been filed.
All necessary documents and information are already in the possession of the respondent, and summoning the petitioner "in person" is therefore a ploy to illegally arrest the petitioner, and the present matter is a clear case of malice.
Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by ED for non-compliance with summons issued by the agency. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.
Last week, the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Arvind Kejriwal on two complaints filed by ED for non-compliance with summons issued by the agency. During the hearing, Kejriwal appeared physically before the court.
The now-scrapped excise policy was aimed "at revitalizing the city's flagging liquor business" and replacing a sales-volume-based regime with a licence fee for traders.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the policy. AAP has accused Saxena's predecessor, Anil Baijal, of sabotaging the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.
Two senior AAP leaders, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are in judicial custody in the case. Sisodia, who was the then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, was arrested by the CBI on February 26 following several rounds of questioning. On October 5, ED arrested Sanjay Singh, who is a Rajya Sabha member. (ANI)
