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regular-article-logo Thursday, 02 May 2024

Kejriwal skipping ED summonses fearing arrest as he knows he is 'kingpin' of excise scam: BJP

Kejriwal on Thursday skipped the fourth summons issued by the probe agency in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, asking why summonses were being issued to him if he was not an accused in the case

PTI New Delhi Published 18.01.24, 08:06 PM
Arvind Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal File photo

The BJP on Thursday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for repeatedly skipping the Enforcement Directorate's summonses and said he fears that he will be arrested as he knows he is the "kingpin" of the alleged excise scam.

Kejriwal on Thursday skipped the fourth summons issued by the probe agency in connection with the alleged Delhi excise policy scam, asking why summonses were being issued to him if he was not an accused in the case.

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Addressing a press conference at the party headquarters, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged Kejriwal did not appear before the ED as he was "sweating" in winter and "shaking in fear" anticipating his arrest since he knows that he is the kingpin of the excise policy "scam".

Bhatia described the ED's summonses to Kejriwal as "justified" and asked the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor why he doesn't approach the court challenging the probe agency's summonses, instead of writing letters and skipping them.

"You are sweating in winter and shaking in fear. Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, sitting behind bars, are asking Kejriwal when will he join them (in prison)," he said.

The BJP spokesperson said now it "seems certain" that the "kingpin" of the liquor scam will be put behind bars.

"Now it's confirmed that Arvind Kejriwal knows that he committed this scam worth thousands of crores of rupees. Arvind Kejriwal has come to know that his future is dark," he said.

"Listen carefully Arvind Kejriwal, you are not above the law. People who are accused or have been issued summons can escape the law for some time but can't survive. You are not going to survive," he warned.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said the ED summonses issued to him were "illegal" and part of a political conspiracy to stop him from campaigning for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Hitting back, Bhatia said, "Ulta chor kotwal ko dante (pot is calling the kettle black)...It's for the first time in the history of independent India that someone is asking the probe agency to withdraw its summons." "Kejriwal is synonymous with anarchy. Breaking the law, corruption, loot and kickbacks are in his DNA," he added.

The BJP leader likened Kejriwal to the protagonist of the Aamir Khan-starrer film "Ghajini" who suffers from amnesia and reminded the chief minister that he had said in the past that anyone facing allegations of graft should resign and return to his position only after getting a clean chit.

"Arvind is synonymous with corruption today... this is worrisome. A chief minister who took the oath of the Constitution is violating it and running away from his responsibility," Bhatia charged.

On allegations that the BJP is using the ED to target opposition leaders ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, Bhatia said it can't be tolerated that those who are involved in corruption are levelling such baseless allegations against the probe agency.

"It won't be wrong to say that today ED, CBI and other probe agencies do their work. They are no more parrots in a cage as they used to be during the Congress rule," he said.

"All these corrupt people have come together for one reason. They believe that nobody can harm them if they are glued together. But all of them will be put in their place. All constituents of the INDI alliance have looted the country and the time has come for them to face the probe agencies," Bhatia said.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

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