A day ahead of the opposition INDIA front’s meeting in the national capital, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday sent its second summons to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, asking him to appear before it on December 21 in connection with a money laundering case linked to the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
The ED had previously sent summons to Kejriwal on October 30, the day the Supreme Court denied bail to former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, to appear before it on November 2. The CM instead wrote to the agency, terming the notice “vague and unsubstantiated” and asking for it to be recalled. In the same letter, Kejriwal had asked for clarity regarding the capacity in which he was summoned, arguing that the move was at the behest of the BJP and also reasoned that he would be needed for campaigning in the then upcoming state elections.
Reacting to the summons sent on Monday, AAP Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak said, “This case is false. You can see that whoever in this country is asking questions of Narendra Modi, either get suspended or arrested by Modi ji. All efforts are made to somehow finish off that individual. In this country, the one person that Narendra Modi ji is most scared of or hates is Arvind Kejriwal, his politics, his Delhi model.”
Pathak added that if one looks at all the cases, whoever surrenders before Narendra Modi or joins the BJP gets a clean chit. “And if Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendar Jain were to join the saffron party today or surrender, they, too, would get a clean chit just like Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and many other such leaders. Modi ji practices dirty politics, and resorts to such conspiracies when he cannot defeat an opponent politically,” he alleged.
The big question is whether the AAP boss will appear before the ED on December 21. Pathak said, “As you all know, Kejriwal is set to go for vipassana (meditation session), and these things are decided months earlier. Now, our lawyers will take a look at this notice and then decide on the next step.”
On the ED notice to Kejriwal just a day before the INDIA meeting, he said, “It is clear and there is nothing new in this. Modi ji’s politics is that he uses wrongful means to break or destroy whoever throws a challenge at him.”
Interestingly, the AAP convener spoke with CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury over the phone, met Trinamool Congress chairperson and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, and, as news broke of the fresh ED summons to him, former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) boss Uddhav Thackeray. Sources indicated that in the last meeting, the issue of ED summons was also on the agenda given that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and spokesperson Sanjay Raut, who was also present in the meeting was earlier arrested in an alleged case of money laundering and spent more than three months in jail before getting bail. When AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh was arrested on October 4 after raids at his residence, Raut visited the MP’s wife, Anita Singh, and expressed solidarity. Other Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders Aaditya Thackeray, Priyanka Chaturvedi, and Arvind Sawant were also present in the meeting.
Kejriwal also posted images from the meetings on social media site X. “Had a courtesy meeting with Mamata Didi in Delhi today. Discussed political issues of the country with her,” he wrote in one of the posts.
“Today I had the privilege of hosting Shiv Sena chief and former Maharashtra chief minister Shri Uddhav Thackeray ji and other Shiv Sena leaders at my residence,” he wrote in another.
As far as the INDIA meeting on December 19 is concerned, sources indicated that discussions on Monday revolved around “how to carry forward from the Mumbai meeting, how seat adjustments should be done” and “how to go to the people through a series of public meetings”.
Following the meeting with Kejriwal, the party handle of the Trinamool Congress posted on X: “Today, our honourable chairperson Smt Mamata Banerjee met AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders in Delhi, engaging in eventful discussions. At a juncture when the sanctum of democracy lies at risk, it is important for responsible leaders and elected representatives to come together as a resounding voice of the nation.”
Significantly, these hectic parleys happened on a day when the number of opposition MPs being suspended from the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha this winter session touched an unprecedented and staggering 92.
It must be noted that the Delhi CM has already been questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the alleged scam in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy in April this year. However, neither the CBI nor the ED have named Kejriwal as an accused yet. Other AAP leaders Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and communication incharge Vijay Nair are all behind bars on charges of money laundering in the alleged scam.
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