NEW DELHI: Following his failure to respond to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) summons in the Liquor Excise Policy scandal, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asserted at a political gathering in Madhya Pradesh’s Singrauli district, on Thursday that central agencies might apprehend him once the election results are announced.
“I am not sure whether I will be in jail or out when the Assembly election results are declared. But I am not afraid of jail,” Kejriwal said at the roadshow.
Kejriwal accused the BJP-led Centre of using central agencies to threaten him with arrests on multiple occasions. Adding that he is not a person but an amalgamation of thoughts, he challenged the agencies to arrest the “millions of Kejriwals” across the country.
FLASH: Regarding the Kejriwal summons, ED is currently reviewing the legality of the letter sent by Kejriwal.
The letter has been forwarded to the legal team for assessment.
The team will determine the next steps, including whether to issue a fresh summons.
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 2, 2023
“In Delhi, they threaten to arrest me every day. You can arrest Kejriwal’s body, but how will you arrest his thoughts? How will you arrest millions of Kejriwals? You have been in power for 10 years. Today, every child in the country is asking how many schools have been built in the country. Whose mouths will you shut?” the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor said.
Counting upon the crowd of MP voters to vote for him, he said, “I don’t know whether I will be in jail or somewhere else on the day of counting, but everyone should say that Arvind Kejriwal came to Singrauli and we gave him a historic victory.”
FLASH: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal takes on the Enforcement Directorate head on in a letter that says it’s not even clear whether he was being summoned as a witness or accused and the entire inquiry is to impair his party’s campaign in five poll-bound states like Madhya Pradesh,… pic.twitter.com/ZF0V3usb87
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) November 2, 2023
Kejriwal had challenged the government by responding to an ED summons scheduled for 11 am on Thursday, related to the liquor scam case that has led to the arrests of several AAP leaders, including Satyender Jain, Sanjay Singh, and, notably, the former Deputy CM, Manish Sisodia. Currently, the liquor policy has been suspended due to allegations of multiple fraudulent activities.
Upon receiving the summon, Kejriwal decided to give it a miss while addressing the central agency in a letter stating that it was “illegal” and “politically motivated”, while accusing the agency of summoning him because of pressure from the BJP.