New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, appeared before a session court at the Rouse Avenue through video conferencing today regarding the recent complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate in the excise policy case.
CM Kejriwal explained his inability to appear physically today before the court due to the ongoing discussion on the confidence motion in the assembly and the concurrent budget session. The court has scheduled March 16 for Arvind Kejriwal’s in-person appearance.
The court will also hear the ED’s case on March 16. Kejriwal has already skipped five summons in the case following which the ED approached a city court against him. Kejriwal, who is also the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief, is expected to present himself before a Delhi court to clarify his stand to skip the ED summons.
This comes amid the Delhi Assembly’s move to adopt the motion of confidence moved by the Chief Minister in a show of strength amid allegations that the BJP is trying to poach AAP MLAs by offering them Rs 25 crores each.
Speaking after presenting the motion of confidence in the Delhi Assembly yesterday, CM Kejriwal stated that two AAP MLAs informed him of BJP members approaching them, claiming that the Delhi chief minister would soon be arrested and these MLAs were offered Rs 25 crore to join the BJP. Kejriwal said that he brought the trust vote in the assembly to prove none of the AAP MLAs had defected.
This move by Kejriwal comes ahead of the ED’s sixth summons which asked him to appear before it on February 19. This marks the second occasion where the Arvind Kejriwal government seeks a trust vote. The Aam Aadmi Party holds 62 MLAs in the 70-member Assembly, while the BJP has eight.
Last week, the court summoned Kejriwal, emphasizing his legal obligation to comply. The ED has accused the Delhi chief minister of intentionally avoiding summons, with the AAP claiming that the summonses were illegal, and the agency’s objective is to arrest Kejriwal and make the Delhi government collapse by unfair means. The AAP leaders claimed that the BJP is deploying different techniques to gain power in Delhi as they cannot win against the Aam Aadmi Party in the national capital.
The ongoing investigation involves allegations of liquor companies influencing the excise policy for a 12% profit, with the Enforcement Directorate alleging money laundering related to kickbacks. The BJP contends that AAP used the alleged scam proceeds to fund its Gujarat campaign, establishing itself as a national party.