Speculations are rife that Delhi Chief Minister and AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal will skip the fourth summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) asking him to appear for questioning on Thursday.
Though Kejriwal has not confirmed his plans, the chief minister is slated to visit Goa on a three-day tour with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, MP Raghav Chaddha and General Secretary Sandeep Pathak. Kejriwal had skipped the summons thrice before — on November 2, on December 22, and on January 3 — calling them "illegal and politically motivated".
When asked about Thursday's plans, Kejriwal told reporters that he "will do whatever needs to be done as per law." Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj also echoed similar views. "He (Kejriwal) is clear that whatever he will do he will do in accordance with the law and the advice of the legal counsel," Bharadwaj said.
Kejriwal's initial plan was to head to Goa on January 11 to take stock of party's preparations for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, but had to postpone it due to preparations for the Republic Day programme in the national capital, reported PTI.
According to party state chief Amit Palekar, the AAP top leadership will meet the party's Goa MLAs and other state functionaries and volunteers during their visit, which comes ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. AAP has two MLAs in the Goa assembly Venzy Viegas (Benaulim) and Cruz Silva (Velim).
The AAP leadership has also questioned the timing of the ED's summons to Kejriwal, saying it came ahead of his Goa tour on January 18.
The 55-year-old leader had refused to depose before the ED for the third time on January 3, citing Rajya Sabha polls and Republic Day preparations. Kejriwal had also questioned the motive behind the ED's actions, citing legal "objections" to the summons and accusing the agency of assuming the role of "judge, jury and executioner".
Besides Kejriwal, BRS leader Kavitha K, who has also been named in the chargesheet by the ED in the Delhi Excise Policy case, skipped the summons on Tuesday for a fresh round of questioning.
Kavitha, the 45-year-old daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, reportedly informed her decision to skip the summons to the investigating officer through an email. Her lawyer, Nitesh Rana, told PTI on Monday that "there is a Supreme Court order that has said that the ED cannot summon Kavitha in this case". However, ED sources have said that the BRS leader had obtained a temporary relief from the apex court last year and it is not valid now.
The federal agency might issue a fresh summons to her. The sources said the ED will take a decision in this context soon.
Kejriwal's name has been mentioned multiple times in charge sheets filed by the ED in the case. The agency has said that the accused were in touch with him regarding the preparation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The ED had claimed in its charge sheet that the AAP used "proceeds of crime" to the tune of about Rs 45 crore in its Goa election campaign.
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.
