NEW DELHI: Hours after a Rouse Avenue court asked CM Arvind Kejriwal to appear before it on Feb 17 over his “non-compliance” with ED orders, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said they respected the order and would present their side of the story before the court on the given day.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi reiterated that the five ED summonses that Kejriwal skipped were “illegal and unlawful” and were part of a conspiracy to stop him from campaigning in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“We will inform the court that all five summonses sent by the ED were 100% illegal and unlawful. The Delhi CM responded to each of them in writing, detailing the illegal components but the investigating agency never replied,” Atishi said.
“Also, ED could not prove the legality of its summons,” she added.
The ED issued summons to Kejriwal to appear before it in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Nov 2 and Dec 22 in 2023 and Jan 3, Jan 18, and Feb 2 this year.
Atishi said the lack of response from ED to Kejriwal’s letters was proof that it did not have any evidence to establish the legality of its summonses. She also alleged that just before the ED sent the summons, BJP through press conferences claimed that Kejriwal was going to be sent to jail. This, she alleged, proved that the summonses were politically motivated and illegal.
The minister questioned the timing of the summonses and said the court would also be informed that the investigation in the alleged excise scam had been going for two years but Kejriwal was summoned just before the Lok Sabha polls. She again alleged that BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs to topple Delhi govt by telling them that Kejriwal was going to be arrested soon. She further alleged that ED was destroying the audio recordings of the investigations of other people linked with the case.
“We will present all our points before the court…Today, BJP-led ED has just one motive, which is to undermine the voice of CM Arvind Kejriwal,” she alleged.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, however, said that Kejriwal had been falsely accusing the ED of becoming a weapon of BJP. “If Kejriwal does not appear in the court on Feb 17 or does any legal manoeuvring, it will directly mean that he is the mastermind of the liquor scam,” claimed Sachdeva.
Addressing a press conference, Atishi reiterated that the five ED summonses that Kejriwal skipped were “illegal and unlawful” and were part of a conspiracy to stop him from campaigning in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“We will inform the court that all five summonses sent by the ED were 100% illegal and unlawful. The Delhi CM responded to each of them in writing, detailing the illegal components but the investigating agency never replied,” Atishi said.
“Also, ED could not prove the legality of its summons,” she added.
The ED issued summons to Kejriwal to appear before it in an excise policy-linked money laundering case on Nov 2 and Dec 22 in 2023 and Jan 3, Jan 18, and Feb 2 this year.
Atishi said the lack of response from ED to Kejriwal’s letters was proof that it did not have any evidence to establish the legality of its summonses. She also alleged that just before the ED sent the summons, BJP through press conferences claimed that Kejriwal was going to be sent to jail. This, she alleged, proved that the summonses were politically motivated and illegal.
The minister questioned the timing of the summonses and said the court would also be informed that the investigation in the alleged excise scam had been going for two years but Kejriwal was summoned just before the Lok Sabha polls. She again alleged that BJP was trying to poach AAP MLAs to topple Delhi govt by telling them that Kejriwal was going to be arrested soon. She further alleged that ED was destroying the audio recordings of the investigations of other people linked with the case.
“We will present all our points before the court…Today, BJP-led ED has just one motive, which is to undermine the voice of CM Arvind Kejriwal,” she alleged.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, however, said that Kejriwal had been falsely accusing the ED of becoming a weapon of BJP. “If Kejriwal does not appear in the court on Feb 17 or does any legal manoeuvring, it will directly mean that he is the mastermind of the liquor scam,” claimed Sachdeva.
