Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal skips 5th ED summons, AAP terms notice 'illegal'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will not appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday for questioning in an alleged money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, according to the AAP.

The ED on Wednesday issued a fresh and fifth summons to Kejriwal after he skipped four earlier summonses over the last four months.

Kejriwal will not appear before the agency for questioning, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said.

Terming the summons ''illegal'', the party said the ED is repeatedly sending notices to Kejriwal to arrest him. The AAP also alleged that the BJP wants to topple its government in Delhi by getting Kejriwal arrested.

The AAP will not let this happen, it said. The Delhi chief minister is, however, scheduled to take part in a protest of the AAP outside the BJP headquarters here at 11 am. Kejriwal skipped ED summonses for November 2 and December 21 in 2023 and January 3 and January 18 this year. He had called these notices ''illegal''.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge repeatedly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, following which the ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).