New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued fresh summons to Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi and the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to the defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case.
Kejriwal has been asked to depose at the central agency office here on March 21.
The ninth summon, which has been issued to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), has come a day after a Delhi court granted him bail on two complaints filed by the ED against him for skipping six of the previous eight summons in this case.
Calling them illegal, the Delhi CM has repeatedly refused to appear in response to these summons.
The ED has also summoned Kejriwal for questioning on March 18 in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB).
This is the second case registered under the anti-money laundering law against the 55-year-old politician.
Reacting to the summons, senior AAP Leader and Delhi minister Atishi said that the ED has summoned Kejriwa to join its probe in a “fake” case linked to the Delhi Jal Board. “Nobody knows what this DJB (Delhi Jal Board) case is about. This seems to be a backup plan to arrest Kejriwal anyhow and stop him from campaigning for the Lok Sabha polls,” she claimed at a press conference.
Atishi added that the two summons, asking Kejriwal to appear before the federal agency next week, were received hours after the Lok Sabha poll date announcement on Saturday.