NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued its fourth summons to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before the probe agency on January 18 for questioning in connection with the money laundering case related to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, officials said on Saturday.
Kejriwal called the summons illegal and ignored three of them so far. The latest one comes as he is set to begin his three-day visit to Goa on January 18 to take stock of his party’s preparations for the Lok Sabha polls. Asked if Kejriwal would appear before the ED this time, Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai said the party is consulting legal advisors and would act according to their counsel.
Addressing a presser, Rai accused the BJP-led Central government of misusing the ED to stop Kejriwal from campaigning. “The ED is a constitutional body. Its notice was leaked to the media before it reached the chief minister. This is not the work of a constitutional body. It is the BJP’s work,” Rai charged.
He also questioned the timing of the summons. “Delhi CM’s Goa tour to be held from January 18-20... was announced (Friday) and now this news about ED notice,” he said. Meanwhile, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said Kejriwal was acting like a “fugitive”. “The people have seen Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya behaving like this,” he said.