Kejriwal skips 7th ED summons; AAP says won’t be pressured to leave INDIA bloc

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday skipped the seventh Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons for questioning in the money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22.

In a statement, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said Kejriwal would not appear before the ED as the matter is sub-judice. “The matter is in the court and the next court hearing is scheduled on March 16. Instead of sending these summons every day, the Enforcement Directorate should wait for the order of the court,” it said.

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The ED has filed a complaint in a Delhi court against Kejriwal for “disobeying” its summons. The court granted Kejriwal an exemption from personally appearing in court until March 16. Kejriwal appeared before the court virtually, submitting that he could not physically appear due to the ongoing Budget session of the Delhi assembly.

The AAP again linked the fresh summons to the AAP’s inclusion in the Opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA). “We will not leave the INDIA alliance and the central government should not create pressure on us in this manner.”

Kejriwal has skipped seven summons since November terming them as “illegal” and asking ED to withdraw them. He was expected to address the assembly session at 1pm on Monday before leading AAP lawmakers to Raj Ghat as his former deputy Manish Sisodia completes one year in jail in the excise policy case.

Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Harish Khurana said Kejriwal skipped the summons to avoid the investigation in the case. Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva called it shameful that Kejriwal will mark the anniversary of a person going to jail in case of corruption. “People of Delhi will not forgive the chief minister.”