Kejriwal summons in DJB case | AAP calls it fake; BJP calls AAP corrupt

Delhi Minister Atishi equates ED summonses with ‘extortion racket’ to decimate Opposition, says nothing known about charges

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons issued to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) case is nothing but a “backup plan” to arrest him ahead of the Lok Sabha poll, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi said on Sunday.

She also equated it with an “extortion racket”, which she said is being “run by the ED in association with the BJP-led Centre” to decimate Opposition leaders.   

The ED has summoned Mr. Kejriwal for questioning on Monday in a case linked to alleged corruption in the DJB. It also issued him ninth summons in the excise policy case, asking him to depose before the agency on March 21.

Addressing a press conference, Ms. Atishi said the probe agency sent the fresh summons in the excise policy case even without waiting for the court’s decision on the petition filed by the ED against the CM for the non-compliance of its previous notices.

The CM has so far skipped eight summonses issued by the probe agency between December 2023 and March 2024 in the case, involving the allegations that the now-scrapped 2021-22 Delhi excise policy benefited certain liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers for monetary considerations.

Ms. Atishi also called the DJB case a “fabricated one”. “Nobody knows what this DJB case is about. This seems to be a backup plan to arrest Kejriwal anyhow and prevent him from campaigning in the Lok Sabha poll,” she claimed.

Ms. Atishi said till now her party does not know what investigation is being carried out in the DJB case. “What is the so-called scam in it? What case has the ED registered in this? What kind of hooliganism is this? It is clear that the ED is running an extortion racket in association with the BJP,” she alleged.